Dance With the Devil
by Phantom Creedy Lover
Summary: Follows I've Just Seen a Face. Things go south when an old serial killer Cassandra's old team dealt with returns. Both teams try to take him down, but three are taken hostage. Another thing they didn't count on? Mike Keppler showing up, very much alive.
1. Old Friends

**A/N: Hi!! This is the sequel to my fic "I've Just Seen a Face". I don't own CSI, blah blah, what's not from the show is what I own. Enjoy.**

Cassandra Sidle couldn't believe it. She hadn't seen the man grinning back right at her in a year, and she missed him more than she missed friends who she hadn't seen for five years. "ALAN!" she threw her arms around him.

Alan Sykes laughed and gratefully accepted the hug. "How are you, Cassie?" he finally pulled away. "Now let me look at you." He moved his arms so she would be at about arms length away. He laughed. "Cassie, you haven't changed one bit."

"Neither have you, Alan." Cassandra grinned, then looked at Catherine. "You guys have obviously met, but I'm gonna reintroduce you anyway." She took Alan's hand and pulled him over to the redhead. "Cath, meet my old supervisor from Reno as well as my dad away from my dad, Alan Sykes. Alan, this is my current supervisor and one of my friends, Catherine Willows."

"Oh, so Jake still has spot of _best_ friend, huh?" Alan asked.

"Damn straight, who asked- AL!"

Alan laughed as he got jumped from behind. "I know that voice anywhere." He squirmed out of the grip so he could turn. "Thompson."

Jake grinned. "Sykes." He and Alan gave each other a pat on the back before they gave up keeping up appearances and hugged.

Alan looked him over. "So you taking care of our girl?"

Jake nodded. "Yeah, but that's more her _boyfriend_'s job now."

"Oooh, boyfriend, huh?" Alan turned back to Cassandra with a grin.

Cassandra blushed. She had been truly lacking on her phone calls to him in the past few months. "Yeah… he actually just left with another C.S.I for breakfast. He's having a bad day, so I'll see if you can meet him later."

"That may not fly too well with him, Princess. You said yourself Al here's your dad. Haven't you heard your boy has to meet the parents?" a new voice asked.

Cassandra froze yet again. "You should talk, Trigger. That didn't help you with your marriage, did it?" she turned to the tall, man with dark brown hair who was a few feet away.

"Oh, that hurts, Cassie. That hurts!" the man replied, feigning real disappointment. However, his hurt looked turned to one of brief worry when she looked stunned and ashamed. "I'm kiddin', kitten." He opened his arms and flicked his fingers towards himself in a "come here" motion. "Come to daddy. I haven't seen you in ages."

Cassandra smiled and walked over to him before hugging him as tight as she had hugged Alan. "Mm. I missed you, Zach."

Zach "Trigger" Andrews started rocking her back and forth, still in the hug. "Missed you too," he pulled away.

Cassandra looked him up and down. "So what's the deal? You two carpool here?"

Zach nodded. "Yeah. Everyone else is back home in Reno. You honestly think I'd let Dad's crazy driving affect my chances at being the second to see you? No!" He put his hands on her shoulders. "You and I were stuck in the desert on a case together too many times to pass it up." He looked up when he spotted Nick and Riley looking back at the scene. While Riley look just plain confused, Nick looked pissed. "This better be your boyfriend or somethin' giving me the stink eye, here."

"Oh, your man's still around here, then." Alan spoke up, looking around. His eyes settled on Nick, who was watching, figuring it was him. The size-up began a moment later.

Cassandra rolled her eyes and sighed. "Zach, it is. Nick, calm down. These are my old friends from Reno."

"Not anymore. We transferred since we have a lot of incoming people. We're in Henderson now." Alan cut in.

Cassandra turned to him, leaning back against Nick when he came over, his expression softer and more welcoming that it was before. "Really?" she asked.

Alan nodded, then looked at Nick. "Now this is… Nick, did you say?" He smiled and offered his hand. "Hi, I'm Alan Sykes. Cassie's old supervisor, the tall guy behind me is Zach Andrews, another old teammate of hers."

"Oh," Nick nodded, shaking his hand. "Yeah, Nick Stokes." He nodded at Zach after the man went over and shook hands as well.

Riley joined the group. "I'm the second newest to this team. Riley, Riley Adams."

"Alan Sykes, Zach Andrews." Alan introduced.

Riley nodded, letting her eyes hold on Zach a little more.

Cassandra leaned over. "Down, girl. He's off relationships at the moment." She whispered.

"Really?" Riley looked at her.

Cassandra shot her a warning look.

Nick came back to Cassandra's side and wrapped his arms around her. "So what brings you two to Vegas?"

"We want our Cassie back. We heard she needed to leave either the team or building." Alan replied. "Now I see why." He looked Nick in the eye, and then laughed. He waited for Nick to meet his gaze. "Hurt her and I'll kill you and hide the evidence." He said without breaking eye contact or the smile.

Nick's smile faded completely. "Yes, sir."

Alan nodded. "We'll get along just fine."

Cassandra laughed, then turned in Nick's arms. "You get lost, now. Have breakfast with Riley. Feel better."

"I'm fine here with you." Nick replied with a smirk.

Cassandra grinned. "Player." She pecked him on the lips. "Now go on. More introductions later."

"Nah, join us." He looked back at Riley. "Wouldja mind?"

Riley laughed. "No, it's fine. Though I'll pay for you and I, the others are on their own. Saves me a few bucks and the suspicious look Cassie always gives me after we're alone." Riley replied.

Cassandra laughed. "Shut up. I can't help if I'm possessive of my man." She teased, then looked at the others present. "You guys in?"

Jake shook his head. "Sorry, C.J. I gotta go home, so I'm out…"

"But we're still in." Alan offered, nodding at Zach.

"Sounds good." Zach agreed.

"Hey, me three." Catherine smiled. "You still have your cake, by the way."

Nick laughed. "Well, Little Cassie's coming over soon. She'll help all of us take care of it."

"Cassie as in Cassie McBride or this Cassie?" Catherine asked.

"McBride. Haven't spoken to her in ages. She wants a visit anyway." Nick shrugged. "Gotta spend time with both of my Cassies, not just one." He gave Cassandra a peck on the cheek. "Alright, so who's driving?"

"We drove a 4x4 here." Alan offered. "That's a six seater unless you have two others-"

"Got 'em." Catherine disappeared, coming back with Greg and Ray. "And we're all starving."

Alan laughed, then introduced himself to the two new additions to the group, then restated "eight seater" before ushering everyone out the door.

--

Within a few minutes, the group was at Pancake Hutch, getting to know the two members of Cassie's team, while Cassandra just gaped as new names were mentioned.

"Get outta town! Kales?! Little Kaylee went into field work?! Oh my God! That's great! What does Chris think of his baby sister joining the ranks?!" Cassandra almost squealed. It was a new experience for the Vegas team, never hearing her so excited over something, except for the day that Nick had woken up after the whole Lynn situation. "Little Kaylee Keppler. My god-" She jumped, not expecting to nearly get hit by three sprays of coffee, one from Greg, one from Catherine, and one from Nick. "…You know Kaylee or something?" she shrunk back.

"Did you honestly just say Keppler?" Catherine grabbed her hand.

Cassandra blinked. "Yes…?"

"As in Michael Keppler…" Catherine continued.

"… Kaylee and Chris' older brother. Yes." Cassandra nodded. "Died a couple of years ago, two thousand and-"

"Seven." Catherine and Nick cut her off.

Cassandra looked between them. "You knew him?"

"We worked with him, yeah." Nick nodded.

"Not for long." Greg mumbled.

Cassandra saw that Catherine suddenly looked guilty. "Really? Wait… Cath, what's wrong?"

Catherine looked up, then took a deep breath. She chewed her bottom lip for a moment before continuing. "I was there when he died…. I was ten feet away from the ambulence…" she replied. "He pretty much saved my life." She replied.

Alan and Zach raised their eyebrows, stunned. Cassandra wasn't far behind. Ray and Riley didn't look surprised, but they looked interested in the story.

Zach frowned. "I always thought the guy seemed like a jackass but I only heard stories from our Chris and Kaylee… Kales idolized him, though. She was totally broken when he died."

"I remember that." Cassandra nodded. "So yet another connection. We have the Keppler family in common."

"Huh." Greg nodded. "He didn't seem like a family kinda guy."

"Yeah. Not so much." Nick agreed.

Cassandra smiled. "'Cause apparently he had a rocky relationship with everyone in his family but Kaylee."

"He had a rocky relationship with most people outside his family, too." Catherine nodded, then caught the looks from the people who didn't know his full story. "Long story. You don't wanna know."

"But you said he died saving your life?" Zach asked.

Catherine looked at him and nodded. "Yes."

Zach drew his lips into a thin line. "Then… would you mind coming to Henderson sometime and telling Kaylee that? She'd love to know that he died a hero."

Catherine blushed. "Well, _why_ he was at the place he died at isn't such a pleasant story…"

Zach shrugged. "She'd like to know all the same."

Catherine smiled weakly and nodded. "I'd love to, then."

Greg looked between the other team members and Cassandra. "It sounds like this Kaylee girl is loved."

"She's the best." Alan nodded. "We named her our team mascot, actually. She's like that girl Abby in that show NCIS. She's not gothic, but there's not a day where she doesn't hug anyone. We all love her."

"Aww." Catherine smiled. "Well, I'll be sure to come with you. Just point her out."

"Sure." Alan smiled. "She'd like that."

A silence soon passed between the group until Ray broke it with small talk, mostly about what the members of the other team thought of Henderson compared to Reno. It broke whatever tension was in the group, and got them talking about other things as well. Before they knew it, Zach and Alan had already stayed longer than they planned, and left, trying to beat early traffic back to Henderson. The rest of the group also went to their respective homes, ready to get as much sleep as possible. Unfortunately for Cassandra, that wasn't working out too well. This was mostly due to the excitement about seeing her old team as well as trying to figure out that piece of information that she couldn't believe she hadn't told Nick yet. That too was quickly shoved aside when Nick bolted upright out of a sound sleep beside her.

"Hey, whoa!" she touched his arm, then stared at his hand when it latched onto hers with what felt like a vice grip. "Nicky, easy. It's me. You're okay." She waited for him to look at her and relax before she pulled his hand away, only to feel that it was clammy. She arched an eyebrow and looked him over, seeing he was sweating. "God, Nick. What's wrong?" she felt his forehead, finding it cold.

He sighed and leaned back. "I had it again."

Cassandra pulled her knees up to her chest and faced him. "Had what?"

Nick leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "That dream. The one where I'm in that box, reliving getting buried alive all over again."

"Oh, Nick…" Cassandra put her hand on his shoulder.

Nick shook his head. "It always happens before something bad goes down. I had it before your sister got dragged out into the desert, I had it before Warrick died, I had it before everything… What's gonna happen this time?" he looked at her. "Hey, your boys got home safe, right?"

Cassandra nodded. "Zach texted me a while ago… They're fine."

Nick sighed. "Stay away from work, then."

Cassandra smiled. "Nick, relax. I'm sure you having the dreams is a coincidence."

"My point is it's never a coincidence." Nick replied and shifted into a sitting position, leaning over. He folded his arms behind his head, then leaned back again. "Never has, probably never will be."

Cassandra kissed him gently. "You have enough on your plate right now. Just try to take it easy."

Nick shrugged. "I don't know…" he looked away.

Cassandra sighed. "Nicky. Come on. The last thing I need right now is you being paranoid, especially now. Be paranoid in a few months."

"Oh really?" Nick smiled. "Why's that.?"

Cassandra let out a short breath. Here it goes. "…I'm pregnant."

**A/N: Alrighty. First chap of the fic done. Like the ending? Heh. Anyway, if you're curious, I made a pic with all of the new OCs appearances as well as jobs for this. If you look up "Team Sykes" on deviantart, it should be the last one on the first page, black background with blue-framed pictures. I threw in Jake for the Hell of it. A banner and video for this is also coming soon. I hope you enjoyed the first chap, and I'll try to get the second up ASAP. One last thing, feel free to drop by my profile and vote on what pairings you'd like to see in this fic. If you don't see one you like, PM me with it. Thanks, and review!!!!  
-PCl**


	2. The Team

**A/N: Cheers Hope06 for the review. Just an additional note. The AV lab tech, Tyler, in this chap and the ones to come is an OC, not Tyler from Miami. Moving on, enjoy and review!**

Nick stared at her for what seemed like ages, eyebrows raised, mouth open slightly. "What?"

"I'm pregnant." Cassandra repeated, a smile growing on her face just as it grew on Nick's.

"…Really?" he asked.

"Yeah." Cassandra laughed. "You're gonna be a dad." She replied, then hugged him. "That was the news I was gonna give you earlier."

Nick hugged her back and laughed. "Coulda used it earlier, but I guess meeting your friends and knowing you were in good hands before worked, too." He replied, then pulled back. "I'm gonna be a dad…" he repeated, trying to test it out. "But… we have three dogs… you think we can manage?"

Cassandra smiled. "We'll find a way." She patted her stomach. 'At this rate, we don't have much choice. A month," she answered his unasked question a moment later when he got a look in his eyes and opened his mouth. "Hey, we're a great pair. We'll make it work."

All Nick did was laugh before he pulled her in for another kiss and hug.

---

The next day, Cassandra had been asked to go to Henderson to catch up with everyone, as well as get everything for her job finalized. So he could keep an eye on her as well as ask more questions and talk about the life that they were going to bring into the world, Nick came along, so they had Ronnie and Hodges cover them for the day. Cassandra was thrilled that at almost the moment they pulled in, she saw a familiar face. "Rae!" she squealed, running over to a black haired, tan skinned woman.

The woman smiled. "Cassandra!" she returned the hug that Cassandra gave her, then pulled away. "It IS you! I'm so glad to see you! It's been too long!"

"It has. So, what have I missed?" Cassandra asked.

"A lot, actually." Rachel replied, then looked at Nick. "Who's this handsome devil?" she asked, regarding Nick.

Cassandra laughed. "Rach, this is my boyfriend, Nick Stokes. Nick, a friend of mine, Rachel Corinthos."

"Hi," the two shook hands.

Rachel smiled at Cassandra. "So I hear you're coming back to us for good."

Cassandra nodded, hugging Nick. "Thanks to this one, I am." She looked at the crime lab. "So where is everyone else?"

"Inside waiting for you, of course." Rachel replied with a smile.

Cassandra grinned right back. "Well then, let's not keep them waiting."

"You got it. Come on in." Rachel led the way into the building, into one of the labs: the ballistics lab.

A blonde man with a buzz cut was leaning over one of the tables, muttering to himself while going back and forth from one microscope to another.

"Hey, Sam. Can you tear yourself away from work for one second to see an old friend?" Rachel asked.

"Depends if it really is one of my friends compared to yours? That woman Cheryl you introduced me to? Yeah, she grabbed my ass. That's not gonna work out in my mind." He turned, still hunched over, but when he saw Cassandra, he straightened out and made a lop sided grin. "Unless it's an old mutual friend. Princess," he greeted. "Get over here." He opened his arms.

Cassandra laughed, hugging him. "How are ya, Sammy?"

"Good." Sam replied, pulling away, then spotted Nick. "…I've never seen this guy around, so I take you've been doing well in Vegas, yourself." He replied.

Nick smiled, offering his hand. "Sure has. I'm her boyfriend, Nick Stokes."

Sam shook his hand. "Sam Randolph, Henderson's finest Ballistics Tech." He replied.

Nick laughed. "I like that."

"Hope so," Sam replied. "So, how long are you two here for?" he rubbed his hands together.

Cassandra pointed at Nick. "Him either just today or tomorrow as well as today, but I'm back for my old job."

"Get outta town!" Sam chuckled. "I gotta hug you again, then!" he hugged her. "Welcome back, hon."

"Thanks, Sam." Cassandra replied. "Catch up later, okay? I gotta go see everyone else."

"Then I won't keep you. Make sure you see Kales next. She'll hate Rach here and I that we came before her."

"I know, that's where we're hopefully headed next." Cassandra replied.

"Of course it is." Rachel nodded, grabbing her friend's hand. "Let's go." She led them down another hallway, where they were lead into another lab. This time, there was laughter coming from it. A female giggle and a male chuckle.

"And then Charlie was like, "Come on, man. I know you can't do it, but-" the man stopped, seeing Cassandra in the doorway. "Well, well, well…" he smiled. "Kales, look who it is."

The redhead on the other side of the room turned towards the door. Nick held in a laugh at the way the girl's face lit up. "CASSIE!" she launched herself over to the brunette.

Cassandra laughed, catching her. "Easy there, sweetheart," she replied before hugging the young woman tightly. "How are you, Kaylee?"

"Good and now great, now that you're here." Kaylee replied.

Cassandra smiled, only letting one arm drop from the woman's waist before turning to Nick. "Nicky, this is Kaylee Keppler, and behind her is her brother, Chris Keppler. We're kinda a family oriented team."

Nick tensed a bit, hearing 'Keppler', but shook it off. "I'm startin' to see that." He offered good naturedly, shaking Kaylee's hand, then nodding a greeting at the brunette man behind her. "I'm Nick Stokes."

Kaylee looked between them. "Jake get kicked down a notch or is this your fella?"

Cassandra laughed. "Boyfriend."

"Then great to met'cha." Kaylee grinned.

Nick laughed. "You too, ma'am."

"Awww." Kaylee gushed.

Cassandra kissed the girl on the cheek. "Look, I gotta make rounds now that I'm back… Alan told you I'm here for my old job, right?"

"Course he did. Who's up next?" Kaylee asked.

"Hopefully me, now that I heard her."

Cassandra froze. "I know that voice." She turned to see a man that looked to be just older than Kaylee with dark brown, almost black spikey hair. "Wizard," she smiled before hugging him.

"Wizard" looked at Nick, offering a hand while he used the other to return the hug. "Tyler Hansen."

"Nick Stokes." Nick nodded.

Tyler nodded back, then looked at Cassandra. "So, Newbie-turned-Veteran-turned-newbie-again, how you doin'?"

"Fine, you? I heard that you got to talk to some forensics students at the local high school. Congrats." She pinched his arm.

Tyler laughed. "Wouldn't have gotten recognized without ya, Princess."

Nick blinked, noticing that he was the third to call her that. He had figured it was a pet name, but now with "Dad", "Trigger", "Wizard" and "Princess", he changed his mind, figuring they probably all had nicknames.

Cassandra laughed. "Hey, Ty. I keep saying this, but I'll catch up with you guys later, okay? I gotta get to the Bakers and then my main two boys."

"No problemo. Seen Ice Queen yet?" he asked.

Cassandra rolled her eyes. "She's till here?"

Tyler nodded. "I'm surprised you haven't heard them arguing yet."

"They still hate each other?" Cassandra asked.

Tyler nodded. "Duh!"

Cassandra shrugged. "Well, I'll try to see them last, then. Onto the morgue for me. Liam's still around, right?"

Tyler nodded. "Yeah. We're all convinced he wasn't gonna retire until he would see you back here… and maybe not even retire until much later."

"One would hope so." Cassandra nodded.

Rachel laughed. "Isn't that the truth. Cassie, I'm sorry, but I've got to go work on a case. I figure you've been here before on other cases yourself, so you don't need me, anyway."

Cassandra smiled. "Alright, see you later."

Rachel waved before going down another hallway.

Cassandra looked at Nick. "Well, you think I'm in good hands yet?" she teased.

Nick grinned. "They seem like good people. I mean, you've hugged each and every one and they either initiated it or hugged back, so I can't complain… though I'm getting a little jealous that your friends seem to be all guys, even here save those gals Rachel and Kaylee, though apparently it looks like I can't say the same for "The Ice Queen"… What's that about, anyway?"

Cassandra shook her head. "You don't wanna know. As for the guy thing, I only have eyes for you. Now come on. The best is yet to come, if I remember where the morgue is, now."

Nick laughed. "I guess it's my turn to remember from one of the cases I worked with the old team from here. Come on." He led her down a couple of more hallways, then down a flight of stairs, where she opened a door very slowly and quietly, slipping inside in the same manner.

However, her attempt at secrecy was foiled, being that a young, tall, thin brunette man with spikey hair saw her, then a grin slowly spread on his face. The wheels in his head seemed to be turning as if to see if she was actually there. "Dad, we have a visitor… you won't bloody believe it!" he breathed.

"Working on something, Bryce." The older man on the other side of the table replied, writing something down.

"Oh, I think you'll wanna put the pen down for this one… It's bloody Cassie Sidle."

"Nice try, my boy." The man replied.

The younger of them, Bryce, sighed. "I'm not crying wolf, it's her."

"Mm-hm."

Bryce laughed. "If she's not here, then what the hell are you gonna call her twin standing in the door? Your niece?"

Now the man looked up, looking slightly annoyed, but the look instantly melted away when he saw Cassandra. He smiled slowly.

Nick held back a smile, noticing that he looked a fair bit like Grissom. The two had the same smile, too.

"Cassie…" the older man breathed.

Cassandra grinned from ear to ear, then walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him close to her. "Liam," she replied in the same day.

Nick's grin also grew. The hug that the two shared was the loosest of them all, but just with their expressions, he knew it was the most intimate, though more father to daughter than anything else. He wondered if Cassandra had it wrong when she had called Alan her "father away from her father", seeing the two in front of him interact.

The older man, Liam, finally pulled away, only to kiss Cassandra on the cheek. "It's been far to long. How have you been?" he replied with the same British accent that Bryce had.

"Good. Great, actually. I have someone I want you to meet." She looked at Bryce She went over to Nick, took his hand and dragged him over.

"Oh?" Liam laughed.

Cassandra smiled. "Liam, this is my coworker turned boyfriend, Nick Stokes, Nicky, meet Liam "Uncle B" Baker, the glue that holds this team together, and father to Bryce Baker, here." She replied. "And I haven't greeted you yet." She noticed, then walked over to him, raising her hand.

Bryce raised his own. "I was about to cry, you git."

The two slapped five, then made their hands sweep in a half circle so they ended up slapping each others butts as well.

"Oh, how I've missed that." Bryce said sarcastically, then smirked as Cassandra hit his arm. "Missed you too, love."

"Same here, darling." Cassandra replied, imitating his accent.

Bryce looked at Nick, who had just finished exchanging pleasantries with Liam. "So you're her new bloke, huh? It's about time she left… Joss."

Nick laughed, remembering he had thought Josh was Joss as well once. "Josh, yeah. There's actually a story to that break up."

Cassandra stepped on his foot. "Ignore that,"

Bryce nodded. "Will do," he looked at Nick again. "Just thought you ought to know that you'll have an army from here after you if you break her heart."

Nick nodded. "In Vegas to, I promise. Thing is, there's been a new development, so I don't think I'll be breaking her heart any time soon."

"Development?" Bryce inquired.

"She's pregnant." Liam replied from the back of the group. He had gone back to work already.

The other three turned back to him, stunned, before Nick and Cassandra exchanged looks, while Bryce just went wide-eyed and stared at Cassandra's stomach.

"Uh… how'd you?"

Liam smiled. "I have that sense, remember?" he tapped his head. "You're the one who said it."

Cassandra laughed. "I forgot about that?"

"Oh, I'm insulted." Liam replied, putting his hand on his chest dramatically.

Cassandra went over to him and kissed him on the cheek again. "Aww, I'm sorry."

"No offense taken at all, love. Actually, you can make it up to me. I have some pieces of evidence… and they all remind me of a case from Vegas. Erm, Nick, was it? How long have you been working in the Las Vegas crime lab?"

Nick snorted. "Over eleven years, now."

Liam beckoned him over. "Take a look at this. Maybe you'll recognize it."

Nick shrugged. "Fat chance, but I'll see…" he walked over to the microscope and checked out some of the evidence he had come across, but one thing stood out… and he wished it hadn't.


	3. A Not So Warm Welcome

"Come on, Cath. Pick up, pick up, pick up." Nick started pacing in the small area by the phone.

On the other side of the room, Liam leaned over to Cassandra. "Any idea what this is about?"

She shook her head. "Not at all. Could be from a case when I was still with you guys." She jumped slightly when Nick paused, then called out "Catherine!" before starting to talk a mile a minute.

Liam chuckled. "Hm. I know I've only known him for a few minutes, but I never would've thought he could do that."

"Yeah, he does a lot of out of character things when he's emotional."

Liam frowned. "He doesn't abuse you when he gets angry, does he?"

Cassandra gasped and smacked him lightly. "No! Nick would never do that! I had enough of that with Josh."

"Who had a part in trying to kill her, remember?" Bryce smirked.

Cassandra stepped on his foot.

Bryce scowled. "What, I didn't get it from gossip! It was all over the news!"

Nick got off the phone a moment later. "Where's… Tyler, was it? Your D.N.A guy?" he looked at the men.

"Follow me." Liam instructed, leading them up the stairs. "And you said you two have had the rest of the tour, correct?"

Nick nodded. "Pretty much. Been there, done that. You know the drill. Catherine, one of the other girls on my team just rushed me off the phone 'bout somethin'. Didn't hear her say what. Something about one of the tech's comin' in. That's why I asked for your Tyler."

Liam nodded. "I'm sure he's around. Boy practically lives in the lab."

Nick laughed. "I remember those days."

Liam smiled, then motioned to the door. "After you."

They had just made it to the hallway that led the D.N.A lab when they were nearly trampled by a blur of black and brown.

"Get back here, asshole!" A voice from their left called from around the corner.

"Oh no…" Cassandra winced, ducking behind Nick.

"Oh yes." Liam and Bryce nodded.

"Shut up, woman! Leave me alone!" The blur, that ended up being Zach, replied, turning around in order to address the other person involved in the arguement. He spotted the others. " Hello, Cassie, Nick. Long time no see, how've ya been?" he asked, a little too enthusiastically. He tugged on his black polo shirt to focus his energy on something else other than the screaming match.

Cassandra waved weakly.

A blonde, short, skinny woman turned the corner. She wore the expression of a woman set to kill. Her eyes never left Zach. "You're just running 'cause you know I got an answer to Alan before you!" She screamed at Zach.

"No, I'm running 'cause you're a psycho bitch who's gonna get me killed someday!" Zach yelled back.

Nick snorted. "Sounds familiar." He mumbled to Cassandra, only to have her nails dig into his arm. "Ow! What?!" He turned back, only to see the blonde's face just a couple of inches from his own. He jumped in alarm and backed up.

The woman scoffed. "Who are you?" She demanded, then spotted Cassandra. "Well well, Cassie Sidle. Back to steal the spotlight again, hm?"

"Alison." Cassandra mumbled.

The woman, Alison, snorted. "Whatever." She looked back at Nick. "Who are you, Good old Cassie's latest screw?"

"Alison!" Liam scolded.

Nick barely managed to get out "Excuse me?!" after gaping.

Alison laughed. "Whatever, at least this one's hot." She smirked, then walked right on by, making sure her shoulder slammed into Zach's.

Zach glared at her. "Why don't you watch where you're going?" he called.

"Why don't you get over yourself?" Alison called back.

"Why don't you go fuck another mailman?!" Zach called back, then just turned back as Alison flipped him off over her shoulder. He sighed, then turned his attention to the others and grinned. "So, how've ya been?"

Nick kept gaping, then finally snapped out of it and put one arm around Cassandra's shoulders, then the other around her waist and pulled her against him protectively. "… I think I spoke too soon when I said you were in good hands. I'll try and talk to Ecklie about making an exception-"

"Relax, Nicky. I'm used to it." Cassandra offered.

Zach nodded. "She is. Don't worry, we all still love her… well, but Alison over there. Somehow our girl here never managed to get corrupted, huh, Cass?" He laughed. "Yeah, sorry you had to hear that. If you didn't figure it out from my last comment to her, she's my ex-wife."

Nick's jaw was down once again.

Zach shrugged. "Cheated on me, the works." He decided to change the subject. "So, I hear you're gonna be popping out a kid soon!" he said cheerfully.

Nick let out a snort as he raised his eyebrows, while Cassandra licked the inside of her cheek, then looked at Bryce. "You texted him, didn't you?"

"Maybe?" Bryce grinned.

Cassandra smacked his chest. "Enough. I don't want our entire team knowing by text. I want to tell them that I am in pers-"

Tyler came around the corner, and of course, as if on cue, "C.J, you're pregnant?!"

Within a moment, Bryce was running down the hallway, trying to get away from Cassandra, who was chasing him around, screaming death threats.

Tyler blinked, then looked at Nick. "… I shouldn't have said that, huh?"

Nick nodded. "She's personal with a lot of stuff."

"Yup, I remember." Tyler nodded.

Nick nodded. "Yeah, now, while my girlfriend attempts to kill your guy, I was wondering if you -" His head snapped up when there was a rather loud bang that came from his right. Out of instinct, he ducked, then looked in the direction of the bang. It wasn't a gunshot. It was the doors to the lobby they were in swinging open. If it was one thing he didn't expect, it was Jake stumbling inside, slightly hunched over. He even remained hunched over to the side after attempting to right himself. "Hold on. Jake? That you, buddy? What's wrong? Why're you here?"

Jake winced, then pulled himself more upright using the desk, where a stunned secretary was staring at him. He looked at Nick. "Nick. Cassie. Now. Where is she? Please don't tell me she's out right now."

Cassie came out from a hallway, dragging Bryce along behind her. "What is it, Jake?" She took in her best friend's disheveled appearance. "…Jake?" she repeated, letting the brunette go and approaching her friend slowly.

Jake turned to her. "Cassie! Thank God!" he let out a deep breath, then panted.

Cassandra frowned, taking a couple of steps closer. "Jake, what's wrong with you?"

Jake laughed weakly, before his knees suddenly buckled and he fell to the floor.

"JAKE?!" Cassandra shrieked and ran over to him, dropping to her knees. She had to cover her mouth to muffle another scream when she saw that there was a large bloodstain on his shirt by his side, and it looked like it had happened recently. "Liam?!" She hadn't even noticed the man she had called for was already by her side.

Liam looked over Jake, putting pressure on the wound already. "Well, lucky for you, Jacob, you knew to keep this covered. Where were you? How did this happen?"

"Hi, Doc… haven't… seen ya…. while. How… many times…. told you not… call me Jacob?"

"Jake!" Cassandra warned. "What happened?" She inquired, attempting to get his attention focused, if even possible.

"Attack… our crime lab… apparently. Had one of… in my car… backseat… ambushed me… shot me… fought… got him out of car… drove like… Hell." Jake replied. His head rolled to the side a bit.

"He's losing consciousness. Not good." Liam informed them, pressing more to the wound. "We need paramedics. He needs to get to a hospital-fast."

Cassandra turned, seeing everyone gawking at the scene, then Nick, pale as ever, staring at Jake.

"Did he just say the lab got attacked?" Nick asked, realizing she was looking at him.

Cassandra pulled out her cell phone and tossed it to him. "See if dispatch or anyone knows anything." She turned her attention to Bryce. "You. Jake needs help. Call-"

"Ambulence, medics, anyone. Got it." Bryce took out his own phone and ran out the door.

Cassandra turned back to Jake. "Jake, sweetheart, you still there? Stay with me, alright?"

"Kinda hard, Cass… fading." Jake replied, then let out a shuddering breath. "Ooh, losing feeling in my side, too."

Cassandra looked down at the blood around the wound and some of it that was actually getting onto the floor and pooling by her and Liam's knees. She shook her head, realizing focusing on the amount of blood he was losing wasn't the wisest thing to do. She didn't want to think of what could happen to him with that much blood loss. She pressed on his wound more to assist Liam, then Jake's words finally registered. She didn't understand how they hadn't made her sob all of a sudden. "No. You're not passing out on me or worse, so don't even think like that." Cassandra replied, cradling his head. "You give up on me when I say you can give up. Guess what? I'm not letting you."

Jake let out a syllables-worth of a laugh, then hissed in pain. "Love you too, Cassie."

She smacked his cheek lightly. "And you're gonna keep loving me for years to come, got it?" She replied. "You and I have a deal, remember? You live to see the day I have kids, then one of them have Jacob somewhere in their name, and I live to see the day you have kids, one's gonna be Cassandra. That nearly didn't happen last year, let's not repeat that, especially when we're a step closer."

"Looks like we might… and… get further… with it nonhappnin… now. Wait… you tellin me… your preg'unt?" Jake slurred.

Bryce came skidding back into the area. "An ambulence is on its way."

"How many minutes are they away?" Liam asked without

"Six minutes tops." Bryce replied.

Cassandra sighed. "It's gonna be a long six minutes." She looked down. "You hear that, buddy? Help's on the way. You're gonna be okay."

Jake just groaned, then his eyes slid closed while his head went to the side.

"Jake?!" Cassandra touched his shoulder. "Jake? Shit!"

"He'll be fine, Cassie. Like Bryce said, help's on the way."

"Well, they better get here soon or they're gonna get an earful from the newly pregnant best friend of the victim." She snapped. "Nick?! Nick! Where are you?!"

"Right here, Cass." Nick came around the corner. "Nobody knows anything over by dispatch, and that's reason enough to worry. I don't wanna call Catherine in case something is going on."

"What do you mean 'if something's going on'?! My best friend is lying on the floor here bleeding from a gunshot that he said he got from an attack on the lab!" She snapped.

"I know that, Cass! I figure that's why she got off the phone so quick before. She somehow caught the beginning of it and didn't know what the Hell was going on! I meant if whatever was going on is still happening!" Nick shot back.

Cassandra sighed before looking back at Jake. "Just hang in there…" she mumbled, taking his hand.

Liam, who had been glaring up at Nick for snapping back at Cassandra, even if she had been the first to snap, looked at her. "I take you'll kill to be in the ambulence with him."

"Damn straight."

A couple of minutes later, the ambulence pulled up.

Liam pointed at the doors, just as the medicals came in with the gurney and loaded Nick into it. "Go. We'll handle the questions. Nick saw Jake come in, he has to stay."

"You sure?" Cassandra frowned.

"Yes. Go." Liam replied.

Cassandra kissed Liam on the cheek, the got up and kissed Nick as well before going over to the EMTs by the gurney and introducing herself.

Nick went over and knelt where Cassandra had been, spotting another couple of EMTs coming their way. He figured being that they were at the crime lab, cops weren't needed since some were present. He sighed and looked at Liam. "Here we go."


	4. Are You Okay?

**Mma63: Well, then you'll be happy to know that not many of them have huge parts. There are two more introduced in this chap, then it's one or two more OCs, then Cassie and the Vegas team. If you need anything cleared up, I'm in the middle of re-writing chap 3, since even before you said that, I told myself it was too fast paced. Again, thanks for making my night a few days back with your review to I've Just Seen a Face.**

**I don't own CSI, I own the OCs mentioned, blah blah blah. Anyways, enjoy.**

---

Nick regretted not showing up at the hospital for a few hours, but he had to make sure about his own team's safety. He had nearly jumped for joy when he saw Catherine's name on his caller I.D the previous hour. His team had gotten away with bruises and scratches, and thankfully, that was it. He had heard Ray joking in the background of the call that the team had luck on their side. Nick had rolled his eyes and thought that it was more than luck that had it good for them. Now, he was heading towards the hospital entrance, hating every step. When he got through the hospital doors, he flinched. He hated the place, and not just because of his experience. To him, it was a place of death and severe injury. It outweighed the healing factor. He spotted the nurse at the desk. He remembered her from the last time he was there. Her name was Mary or something. He decided against calling her by name to get her attention. She probably didn't remember him. "Excuse me, Miss?" he walked over to the desk, then took a glance at her name tag. Mary. He had been right. "I was wondering if you could tell me what room my friend Jake Thompson is in? He came in with a gunshot wound. My girlfriend rode with him."

Mary smiled, then nodded. "Let me see…" she pulled up a screen on the computer on the desk beside her "… Nick Stokes?" she looked up at him.

"Yes, I'm Nick Stokes." Nick fished into his pocket to get his wallet and pulled out his I.D. He passed it to her.

She glanced from the card to him. "Alright, Mr. Stokes. Miss. Sidle said that you would drop by."

Nick smiled. "Great. Am I able to go in? Is he out of the E.R? Last I checked you could only have one visitor."

"Oh, he's out of surgery now, so he's in recovery. That's two visitors at a time. He's alright, but apparently he's going to have to stay with us for a while. He'll have to stay in bed, too. Poor man's going to need a lot of physical therapy afterwards."

Nick snorted, just imagining Jake's reaction to having to be stuck in bed for a while. He wasn't going to like that one bit. "Thanks. So what room?"

"203. Miss. Sidle's still in there."

Nick shuddered. 203 had been his room for the past three times or two times, he couldn't recall which, that he had been the injured party. "Thanks." He repeated, then headed for the room. He smiled weakly, seeing Jake sleeping, then Cassandra, who was also sleeping with her head resting on her arms, which were folded on the foot of the bed. "Cass," he called, as quiet as possible. When that didn't work, he walked over to her carefully, then touched her shoulder. "Cassie."

Her head snapped up quickly.

Nick laughed. "Take it easy, hon. It's me. Just me," He kissed the side of her head. "How are you?"

Cassandra moved her arms, then stretched. "Tired,"

Nick smiled. "Figured that much. Jake wake up yet?"

"Nope," She stood up. "What's up?"

"Came to take you home. It's six in the morning."

Cassandra frowned. "What?" she glanced at her watch. "Are you kidding? I slept through the night?"

Nick nodded. "Somehow, some way." He nodded at the door. "Come on." He led the way outside, then into the hallway.

"Is everyone okay on your side?" She asked.

Nick nodded. "A few scratches here and there, with the exception of Greg. Greg was more worried about you than himself, and he was the one who needed stitches."

"Whoa. Hold on, Greg needed stitches?" Cassandra stopped in her tracks. "Where? How bad was he hurt?"

"Just above the eye. He got cut by a piece of glass that went flying. Turns out he's a trooper when it comes to getting them." Nick replied. "We're not allowed back at the lab until the afternoon, Ecklie's orders. We're all meeting at my place."

"Alright, but I'm saying 'Hi', 'Is everyone alright?', getting my answers, then collapsing on your couch, just so you know."

Nick laughed. "Darlin', we've _slept together_. How do you think you got _pregnant,_ huh? I think you and I can split the bed for a few hours if you're too tired to cross the street." He smirked.

Cassandra smacked his arm. "Jerk."

The two got back into his car, then started heading back to Nick's. After a while, Nick laughed once, then twice, then there was a small break in the laughter, followed by him just surrendering to a fit of laughter.

"Okay, Crazy. What're you laughing at?" Cassandra raised an eyebrow.

Nick shook his head. "I just love the way you are with everyone you know. All the guys besides me are honorary brothers, fathers, or uncles, the girls are sisters, but Greg, damn. We know we're gonna be good parents 'cause you already treat Greg like he's your son. Hell, you're just over what, five years older than him, and he calls you 'Mom'. Like I said, the first thing out of his mouth, even after he saw me gaping at his stitches, was 'Is Cassie okay?' and you looked like you were about to have a heart attack when I said Greg needed stitches."

"Awww." Cassandra leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder briefly, only hearing up to "good parents" at first, then the rest registered. "Well, he's still a kid inside, however much he's tried to grow up recently, as you guys have told me." She replied.

Nick laughed again, then shrugged. "Point taken."

The rest of the ride passed in silence, until they had arrived at Nick's. The quietness broke the second Nick's door swung open, and Catherine came speed-walking out. "Nicky, Cassie! You're really okay!" she threw her arms around them.

Nick laughed. "What, you think I was lyin' to ya when I said we were fine? And I see you didn't hesitate to break into my house."

"It's been done before, so we all figured 'why not'?" Catherine replied, finally releasing them. She turned her attention to Cassandra. "I heard about Jake. How's he doing?"

"Well, they got the bullet out of him, but they're still antsy about giving a final time about him getting up and around. He's gonna need a lot of recovery time and physical therapy." Cassandra replied.

Catherine grinned weakly. "And you got this from not being related… how?"

Cassandra smirked. "Well, the only nurse I dealt with was a sweetheart. Not to mention you flash a badge and really get to the point that he's closer to a brother to me than my foster brother is, and that he would say the same, you can get your way easy." She replied.

Catherine laughed. "Well, we'll be thinking of him."

"Thanks. Who else is here?" Cassandra asked.

"The whole gang, except for Doc Robbins. He told us he wouldn't hear the end of it from his wife if he came here and not home." Catherine replied.

As if on cue, Greg came hurrying out. "Hey! Cass! Nick!"

The couple grinned, just as Catherine moved so Greg could practically tackle the two. "Hey, Greggo!"

Greg grinned, then winced playfully when Cassandra practically grabbed his head to examine the doctor's handiwork that was now above his eye. "I'm okay, mom."

Nick sent a sideways glance at Cassandra. "Toldja."

Greg made a face at him, followed by another face since Cassandra's finger skimmed the injury at just the right angle for it to smart. "Ow. Don't pick on mom. If she's mom, you're dad. So ha!"

"Who's having an illegitimate kid?" Jim asked, walking outside, followed by Ray, He patted Nick on the back, then nodded at Cassandra. "You guys okay?"

"Fine." The two said simultaneously. Nick turned his attention back to Greg. " My dream come true. Being the father of Rock of Ages Boy."

"You better." Greg replied. "Cass… can I have my face back now?"

"Yeah, sorry." Cassandra released him. "Now what about everyone else? Jim, Ray, Riley, Archie, both Daves, Wendy, Bobby?"

"Mostly scratched and bruised or they're in a similar situation to Greg's." Catherine replied, then looked at Cassandra's waist when she heard a cell phone rang. "You gonna get that?"

"Yeah, sorry. I'll just be a minute." She smiled and waved when she saw Ray and Jim at the door. She pressed the phone to her ear. "Sidle."

"_Cass! Hey, it's Zach."_

"Oh, hey. Please don't tell me the same thing happened over with you guys now."

"_No. Just checking up._ _Jake okay? What about the rest of your team?"_

"As okay as a guy who just got shot could be right now." Cassandra replied.

"_I guess that's okay, as morbid as that sounds. Uh, Rach and Alan got to talking with the guys high on the totem pole. With Jake gone, you're gonna need some help. They're sending Chuck and-"_

"Phil! Oh my God. I'm an idiot, I actually forgot about them. Yeah. So they're gonna come to help us out tomorrow?"

"_Yeah. That's the other message. So you guys are overall alright over there?" _

"Overall, yes." Cassandra nodded.

"_Good. I'd love to chat more, but we're swamped." _

"I know. Go ahead. We're fine."

"_Thanks, Cass." _

"Uh huh. Bye." She hung up. "We're gonna have two of Henderson's finest come by to help us out tomorrow." She announced. "I want in on this case, no matter what Ecklie said. I barely even started in Henderson today." She shook her head.

Catherine nodded. "Fine with us."

Cassandra smiled. "They're good guys. The thing is, the two of them equal one Jake skill wise."

"Well then, we'll have to take them." Ray cut in.

Catherine nodded. "You bet."

Cassandra nodded. "Now if you excuse me, I'm apparently too lazy to cross the street, so I'm gonna get some shut eye inside." She pushed passed them and headed inside.

"Bye, mom!" Greg called, casting a glance at Nick, who simply rolled his eyes.

Catherine smiled. "Actually, I'm with her, now. I'm gonna get some shut eye until later… well… today, now that it's bright and early. Glad you boys are okay. Good night." She gave them each a kiss on the cheek before heading for her car.

--

Cassandra glanced over at Nick, a few hours later, as they pulled into the parking lot of the Las Vegas Crime Lab. As Jake had mentioned, it had happened before, but seeing the sidewalk where blood drops and shattered glass lay blocked off by crime scene tape was still haunting to say the least. "You set?"

Nick shrugged. "Just another day at the office." He got out of the car, and she followed suit, heading for Conrad, who was a few feet away. "Ecklie!"

Conrad turned around. "Stokes," he greeted, then looked at Cassandra. "How much of your paperwork for your transfer is done?"

"Barely any?" Cassandra winced, waiting for the fireworks to come.

Ecklie shook his head. "Fine. Just so you know, I'm only doing this because you were honest about your relationship with Nick and volunteered to find a new job right away." He lifted the tape for them to pass.

"Yeah huh." Cassandra mumbled, only half paying attention as she went into the scene

"I'm not done yet!" Conrad called.

Cassandra turned. "Lemme guess, stay away from the spot 'Thompson' had his altercation in."

"Exactly. Now go." Conrad waved her off.

Cassandra mock-saluted, but when Conrad turned back around, she waved him off as well.

Greg came over to them. "Did you just Wade Wilson salute Ecklie?"

"Yup. So how is it in there?" Cassandra asked.

"Ugly. Not gonna lie. We lost a couple of cops. We didn't know that last night. A few injured like us." Greg replied. "The lobby really got the worst of it."

"Anything missing? Any idea of what they were after?" Nick asked.

"Not yet. Archie's talking to our boys in security to see what he can do with the tapes, though." Greg replied, then frowned. "Hey, who are these guys? They from Henderson, Cass?"

Cassandra turned, seeing two men coming their way. One was black, the other was white. The white man had black hair, and at first blush probably would've been mistaken for Zach, but with a closer look, different features came into view. The black man was reasonably tall and quite thin. "Yeah. Those are mine. Greg, Nick, meet Chuck Lyons and Phil Greene. Chuck, Phil, a, long time no see, b, my boyfriend Nick Stokes, and friend Greg Sanders."

"I'm Phil, he's Chuck." The taller man shook hands with the two men, then pulled Cassandra close and clapped her on the back. "Damn straight, long time no see. Why didn't you call?"

"It definitely hurt, Cass." Chuck agreed.

"Well, if you would either get back to using your home phone, or keep your cell on for more than two minutes at a time, I would." Cassandra replied. "Your turn, Chuck." She hugged him. "So, like the others said, catch up later, business now."

"Deal." Chuck nodded. "Why don't you guys fill us in first, actually?"

"Our lab got attacked… again. Don't know why… guys covered in clothes from head to toe came in, just started shooting everything, then got up and left. Apparently one of the officers managed to wound one suspect, as did Jake." Greg explained.

Phil crossed his arms. "So nothing yet, basically?"

Greg rolled his eyes, then held up a swab. "I'm gonna check out some of the blood outside, so that may change soon. I guess that means you guys hold until we get results. Nick, wanna meet me in the lab, uh, Cass…"

"I'll find Catherine or Ray, see if they need help." Cassandra suggested.

"We have ourselves a plan, ladies and gentleman. Let's get the bastards who did this."


	5. You Don't Know Him

**A/N: I'm not gonna deny it. This chap is really cliché. I actually make fun of it within the chapter. Hope it's not too too horrible. Tell me what you think.**

**--**

"Wha…?"Cassandra couldn't find any words to reply to what Catherine had just told her and Greg to do.

"No!" Greg backed her up. "Cath, this is _our lab_ that got attacked! We're helping with the case, not doing garbage _duty_!"

"Exactly." Cassandra nodded. "I already told off Ecklie so I could stay here to help _solve the case_."

"Sorry, Cass, but we have enough people here. You and Greg go help get everything clear so we can work with our equipment. End of story. See you later." Catherine replied before walking off in another direction, towards one of the areas of the lab that had been cleared.

Greg sighed. "You know what sucks? We can't win against her… ever." He shook his head. "So who's in the dumpster this time?"

Cassandra sighed. "I'll go, you do the main heavy lifting, huh?"

"Deal. So the dumpster's outside the toxicology lab?" Greg asked.

Cassandra nodded again. "Uh huh."

Greg patted her on the arm. "Meet you in two."

"Got it." Cassandra headed out the door and headed towards the side of the building.

"Hey, Cass!"

Cassandra turned, seeing Jim Brass coming her way. "Hey, what's up?"

Jim nodded a greeting. "I just came over to tell you that we have a special visitor for you through the people who came to volunteer with helping clean up the lab."

"Oh?" Cassandra raised an eyebrow, then frowned when she saw who came around the corner. "BILL!" she practically shrieked, running over to Bill Richmond, the man who she still believed was the main reason she was still alive that day, and hugged him. "I haven't seen you in ages! How are you?! How's your wife? How's the baby?!" The questions came at a mile a minute.

Bill laughed. "I'm fine, and that's part of the reason I'm here."

Cassandra let him go. "Meaning?"

Bill grinned. "I have someone for you to meet."

"Both of you, huh?" Cassandra smiled back.

Bill shrugged. "Hey, Claire, honey? Come on."

Cassandra smiled warmly as his wife came around the corner, then the smile turned ecstatic when she saw that Claire was holding their baby- that she knew only as "their baby" or "their daughter", even after a few months after she was born. "Aww!"

Bill chuckled. "Cassie, meet Cassidy Nicole Richmond."

Cassandra's smile faded briefly. "Don't mean to sound too selfish and crazy, but any connection to-"

"You and Nick? Of course. Just don't break up any time in the next eighteen years."

Cassandra laughed. "Aw, that's adorable. I'm flattered. I'm sure we won't."

"Good." Bill winked at her. "Well, I was told to help out carry things out, so I'll see you soon, huh?"

"Sure. Thanks for volunteering."

"Any time. It's the least I can do after what happened a while back. See ya." He headed inside, followed by Brass.

Cassandra watched them, then reached the dumpster and stepped up onto it, sitting on the edge. "Hey, Greg, you here yet?"

Greg popped up from the side. "What took you so long?" He asked, holding out a pair of gardening gloves to her.

"Ran into an old friend who's one of the civilian volunteers with the cleaning. What are these for?"

Greg waved his hands out part of the window frame. "That. The whole window's shattered, and most of it ended up in here."

Cassandra frowned. "There? Then there were gunmen outside, too?"

Greg shrugged. "Maybe it was the guy who… got… Jake." Greg trailed off, for the fact of remembering just what Jake was to her, as well as trying to find a less violent term for 'shot'.

"True." Cassandra nodded. "Alright, start with the biggest, obviously."

"You got it."

Within a couple of hours, Greg and Cassandra had taken care of about three of the rooms, and headed back to Catherine for new assignments. They were disappointed once again when they were told to head to a homicide ten minutes away. After complaining to each other for a few minutes, they headed towards the truck, only to get intercepted halfway there. Greg had to admit he was impressed when Cassandra didn't so much as look to the side when the person who intercepted them threw an arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, Chuck." She greeted.

The homicide detective smiled. "Hey, Cass. Your gal Catherine assigned me to work with you two. That cool?"

Cassandra nodded. "Fine by me. Just be careful with this. My boyfriend gets jealous easy, you know."

Chuck laughed, but let his arm drop all the same. "Deal. So Team C.C's back in action, huh?"

"Looks like." Cassandra nodded.

Chuck grinned. "So where to?"

Greg looked at the address. "42 Evans Street. Homicide." He replied.

Chuck shook his head. "Does it ever end?"

"We wish, Chuck." Cassandra replied before leading the way to the truck.

Once they got there, the three just gaped at the scene. The house was in horrid shape. It was falling apart in just about each area possible, and the grounds weren't taken care of at all. If the plant life wasn't dead, it was damn near close.

"Well isn't this the happy retirement spot." Chuck quipped. "No surprise someone died here."

"Shush, Chuck." Cassandra snapped, going to the front door and looking into the front window. "Nothing in the living room or kitchen." She jostled the doorhandle. "It's locked. What the Hell?"

"Around the back, maybe?" Greg suggested.

Cassandra shrugged. "Maybe. Won't hurt to try. Where are the other officers?"

Chuck shook his head. "Should've been here by now. I don't like this place. Scares the willies out of me."

" 'Willies'?" Greg grinned.

"Yes, willies." Chuck replied.

"Boys, save it. Let's go."

Chuck and Greg exchanged looks, then headed towards the backyard. Once they did, Cassandra just about tripped over them when she saw what was practically waiting for them. A man- rather, a body, was sitting in a porch chair, its throat and arms slit, chest stabbed in several places, joined by a knife that was still in its abdomen.

"Jesus!" Chuck whipped around and leaned over. He started swaying, and had trouble staying upright.

Cassandra went over to him. "Hey, you okay?"

Chuck scowled. "Look at it, Cassie. Does it look familiar?! Did you seriously forget that?! Trent?! John?!"

Cassandra turned back around and looked over the body. "Oh God. Is it… do you think…?"

Chuck nodded.

Cassandra shook her head. "He's supposed to be…"

Chuck shook his head. "Bastard went free because the cop that was in charge of the arrest turned out to be dirty and was charged with bribery and about four other things last week." He looked back at the body and bent over, clutching his stomach.

Cassandra put her hand on his back. "Chuck, go to the truck and call for backup. Now. Greg, get your gun out." She ordered, drawing her own, as Chuck headed for the four by four they had come to the scene in.

Greg shook his head. "Cassie, I don't have my gun on me. I thought this one was gonna be a cut and dry drowning, no gun needed."

"This is far from a drowning." Cassandra replied. "He got us again. Damn it.

Cassandra frowned. "Get behind me." She ordered.

Greg stared at her. "Bu-wha- Nick told me that you were-No! I'm not letting you-"

"Greg, just do it."

"Give me your gun and you get behind me, then."

"Greg, you have no idea what this guy's capable of."

"Tell me? What's gotten you guys so spooked? Who is this guy?"

"The guy who killed my old partner and his old partner within a week of each other. The way I see it, when he threw mine out the window, he was doing my partner's family a favor, because that's what he did to Chuck's." She pointed at the body a few feet away.

Greg swallowed hard.

Cassandra nodded. "Exactly."

A few feet away, Chuck had just finished calling for backup when his stomach couldn't take the lurching anymore. He vomited, then once he was done, groaned and groped around in the truck for the water bottle he had from before. Once he got it, he rinsed his mouth out and tossed it into the sewer. "Jesus…" He sat down, facing the road, and covered his face with his hands. Once he let them drop, he looked to the side, and not a moment too soon. He saw the outline of a man coming at him, "HEY-" the warning came a second too late, however, because a moment later, something hard hit him square between the eyes and he lost consciousness.

Back with Cassandra and Greg, they were still going on about Cassandra staying outside or not. That was, until the door swung open, extremely slowly.

Both stepped back, and Cassandra could've killed Greg and hugged him at the same time when he stepped in front of her protectively. Sure enough, a man stepped out, looked at them, and chuckled. However, the man stopped when he saw Cassandra. "I remember your face, Cassandra Sidle, I recall?" He moved the side of his jacket so the other two could see that he had a gun at his side.

"Lars Morgan." Cassandra replied.

The man, Lars, smirked. "Interesting that both you and Charles came to this scene, is it not?"

Cassandra frowned. _Chuck_. She turned her head, only for a moment, trying to find him. Once she realized Chuck wasn't anywhere by the van, she glared at Lars. "You bastard. What did you do to him?"

Lars stepped down off the stoop. "Nothing… yet. Now, I was hoping to get Gilbert Grissom out here. Apparently, no such luck, since you and your friend are here."

"Well, too bad for you, then. Grissom's gone away for quite a while." Cassandra replied. "Who was this guy? Why did you kill him?"

"The man was alone and I needed bait for the trap."

Greg swallowed hard. The man was insane. Who else could be that calm and collected like this? His frown deepened when he heard sirens in the background. Yes, that meant help was on the way, but who knows what this guy would do, now that they were out in the open, he had a gun, and Chuck was now… God knows where.

Lars drew his gun, and Cassandra went to get out her own.

Lars clicked his tongue. "I wouldn't suggest that, Cassandra." The man scolded in a mocking tone. "I'd have a bullet in your head before you had the chance to aim. Now…" He caused the other two to jump when hen pulled the trigger, moving his hand down at the last moment. The bullet landed about two inches from Greg's foot. "That was your warning. The next will be his kneecap. Do you really want to be responsible for your friend being in pain again? Drop your weapon, dear."

Cassandra clenched her jaw and put her hand on her gun again.

Greg shook his head. "Cass, what're you doing?!"

Cassandra looked at him. "Greg, usually I'd agree, but you don't know this guy."

Lars smirked. "Flattered. Now move." He motioned with the gun at a white van on the other side of the street.

Greg frowned. "Really? There's a reason why they call those things rape vans, you know."

"Shut up and move, Greg." Cassandra replied.

"You heard the lady." Lars replied.

The two went over to the van, the Lars opened the two back doors and pretty much shoved them inside. Cassandra looked around and froze, seeing Chuck lying in it further back. The lower portion of his face was covered in blood, and his nose was completely swollen. "Chuck?!" She scooted over to him, putting his head into her lap. "Goddamn it, whoever's with this guy broke his nose. Chuck? Wake up. Come on." She shook his shoulder, fearing that if she patted his face it would cause more damage. She decided against looking up when she saw light fading from the area, indicating the doors were closing.

Once the doors were closed, Greg felt around, and when he felt Cassandra's shoulder, he knelt down. "Anything other than the broken nose?"

Cassandra shook her head, examining the other man. "Not that I can tell. Hold on." She moved her fingers down to his neck and let out a sigh of relief. "There's a pulse. He's alive, that's just about the only thing that's good about this. Did you hear backup coming? How far would you say they were from here?"

"A couple of minutes." Greg replied, then lurched when the van started up and started moving fast. "…Too late, at this rate." He concluded.

"Goddamn it!" Cassandra replied. "This is wonderful. This is time number two I'm involved. Now I really know how Nick feels…"

Greg nodded. "So…what're we gonna do."

"The only thing we can: wait."

**A/N: (snort) Yeah. Last bit was awful. Well, comments? Complaints? Compliments? Let me know.**


	6. The First of Many Messages

**A/N: Alright. Hopefully I didn't confuse myself and type the wrong version of the name in here, but due to popular demand, I brought Cassie McBride from the episod "Gum Drops" into this. She'll show up in this chapter and one in the future. So it's not confusing, Cassandra is Cassandra Sidle, where Cassie is Cassie McBride. I hope it doesn't throw you off too much. Good news is if it does, it'll only do so for a chapter. I don't own CSI, blah blah blah, enjoy. **

"So… where ya think we're going?"

Cassandra looked up from Chuck, who was still unconscious, and focused on Greg. The two had given up on banging on the walls of the truck in the past few minutes. "Not a damn clue."

"Did this guy have a hideout or anything back when you dealt with him?" Greg asked.

"Not anywhere close to where we got picked up, which either means we're in for a Hell of a ride, or… God, I don't even know anymore." She sighed.

Greg swallowed, not quite knowing what to say. Instead, he smiled when she saw him stroke Chuck's hair. "Is there anyone on the team you don't care about like a mom, sister or daughter?"

Cassandra laughed. "Well, with the exception of Alison, no, not really." She replied with a small smile of her own, but it dropped the second she felt Chuck stir. "Chuck, hon?" She moved his head so she could slide out and kneel beside him.

Chuck slowly opened his eyes. "Whur-whurm'I?" He wheezed, his damaged nose screwing up his speaking pattern.

"In some van, Chuck. Whoever got you got us."

Chuck let out an annoyed grunt and put his head back, saying something that came out muffled once again. Cassandra figured the rough translation was "Cass, we're screwed."

"Don't think like that, Chuck. Not now when this whole thing's only just started."

Greg frowned. "Guys, I uh… you told me what this guy did, but… what else aren't you telling me? Cass, I know you. You're leaving something out."

Chuck and Cassandra just looked at each other without saying a word.

---

Alan subconsciously clenched his fists, seeing the email that Catherine was showing him. It had been delivered about an hour ago, and Catherine had called him to come and see it as opposed to sending it to him, fearing a virus was on it and could be triggered. He clenched his jaw as he read it over for the third time.

_My Dear Old and New Friends:  
__As you know by now, I have three of your own. I would say I hope you don't mind, but you obviously do.  
__A shame, really, Alan, that this has happened to you twice now. How does it feel knowing that I killed two of your own and now I may make it an even five? You must be beating yourself up inside. I wish I could see that. So what will it be? Finally give me what I've wanted these years.  
__As for the new faces, hello. I might as well introduce myself. My name is Lars- Lars Morgan. Go ahead, run my name. You'll get my deeds and physical appearance, other names, but nothing more, I assure you. The young blonde man with the two familiar faces must be yours. The boy looked terrified. Amazing what fear can do with emotions, isn't it? _

Part of Alan couldn't bring himself to read the rest. The urge to vomit was too much. However, the other part of him begged him to go on, and he compromised the internal struggle and read the last line.

_So tell me, do all of you wish to dance with the devil? _

He decided reading on had been a stupid mistake. He stumbled away and braced himself on the wall. That last line had been written on one of the windows of the place where Chuck's partner had been killed. The writing had been red, so the team had been horrified that it was written in blood until they found it was only paint. He bent over, feeling vomit come up, then go right back down. When he realized he was in the clear, he let out a yell and swung out his arm, sending a paperweight and a bottle of water that was on the desk beside him falling to the ground. He gripped the side of the desk, then slammed his fists down. "Goddamn it!"

Catherine frowned, but decided to keep her distance for his sake. "We'll find them Alan. We'll stop this Morgan guy. We'll put him away."

"No." Alan shook his head.

Catherine frowned. "No what?"

Alan glared at her, but she knew the anger behind it wasn't directed at her. "We can't put him away. The only way we can stop this guy is a _bullet to his head_." He replied roughly, then saw her look of shock. He sighed and looked around desperately for a chair. He found one, then sat down. "Catherine, understand that this guy made our lives Hell for years. He played with us, then killed two of our own. He even sent messages afterwards that made that pain come back. We thought it was over after a while of not being contacted, Now he's back and has two of our own… and two of yours, being that Cassie's part of both teams… I don't know what to do, now." He looked down, then back up and away from her.

It didn't take Catherine much to realize he was crying. "Alan, I swear, we'll find him. We've been here before-"

"We have, too!" He snapped. "Didn't I just tell you he killed two of us?!"

"Yes, I know. I really do, but all we can do is hope right now."

Alan looked at her, then clenched his jaw. "Do Nick and Jake know yet?"

Catherine sighed. "Nick's in as much bad shape as you are, if not more, and we all decided to let Jake recover a little more before telling him his best friend and two other close friends have been taken by a psychopath."

Alan shook his head. "I've only met Jake a few times at Cassie's get togethers, but I know him enough that he'll hate us if we don't tell him now."

"Then I'll go and tell him." Catherine offered.

"No. Let Nick do it. He'd want the one closest to her, too." Alan replied.

"I'll talk to him, then." Catherine nodded. "Are you going to be alright?"

Alan frowned and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "To be perfectly honest, I don't know."

Catherine offered him a small reassuring smile before she got up and left in search of Nick. She knew that the Texan was probably thinking of what the situation could become- the possibilities of it becoming like his ordeal with being buried alive. She spotted a familiar head of brown hair peeking out from the other side of the table in the break room. She went inside and nearly came to tears when she saw Nick sitting against the wall, knees tucked up to his chest. He, like Alan, had tears in his eyes. Who wouldn't when a loved one was going through this? "Nicky, sweetheart?"

Nick looked up. "Oh… hey, Cath."

Catherine knelt down. "Honey, you shouldn't be alone here."

"I really don't want to get nailed for being like this when this blows over… _if_ it blows over."

"It will. We'll find them… and if anyone gives you Hell for crying, Brass will be sure to beat some sense into them."

Nick forced a laugh, but after a moment, it was genuine.

Catherine smiled. "Come on. I was gonna see if you could go down to the hospital and tell Jake about what happened, but-"

"But _Jake already knows_!"

Catherine spun around after realizing the reply didn't come from Nick. She didn't expect to see Jake in the doorway, holding himself up with one arm which was leaning on the frame. He too looked like Hell, but for different reasons than Alan and Nick- well, at least a couple of more reasons than the other two. "Jake? I thought you weren't supposed to leave-"

"Checked myself out of that Hell hole." Jake replied, advancing on her. He put his hands on her shoulders. "My best friend. Chuck. Greg. Murdering Bastard. Details. _Now." _

Catherine couldn't tell if the choppiness of his words were from desperation or the meds in his system taking effect. She opened her mouth, then shut it. "Maybe you should sit down or something. You don't look so good… were you hooked up to anything?"

Jake shook his head. "I don't give a shit! I want to know what the Hell is going on with my best friend who's been taken by the bastard who killed two of my friends already!" Jake snapped, then paled a bit. "On second thought, maybe I will sit." He went to get into the chair, but it didn't go as well as he had hoped. One knee buckled and the rest of him gave way so he ended up on a heap on the floor. He didn't seem phased. "Okay, talk."

The second Catherine began to tell Jake what had happened, Nick got up and bolted out of the room. He was in no mood to hear the details again. He had made it halfway down the hallway when he stopped in his tracks, seeing a familiar face he didn't expect. The second Cassie that had a special place in his heart: Cassie McBride, the girl who had lost her family and had been left for dead in the same night at the young age of ten. The girl who he had rescued and stayed up all night with in the hospital. Cassie was now fourteen, and wise beyond her years. "Cassie?!"

Cassie spotted him, then ran over to him, leaving her foster parents, Mary and Carl to follow. "Uncle Nick! What's going on?! Who has Aunt Cassandra?!"

Nick nearly started crying again. Since he had met the girl, he had gone through a handful of girlfriends. He had always been 'Uncle Nick', but Cassandra was the first one of the small number that little Cassie had ever called 'Aunt'. The two Cassandras loved each other right off the bat and it was evident. The fact that she was so worried about Cassandra broke his heart, as did the fact that she wanted to know what happened right away. He figured he was to blame. He had told her so many stories about his job (the very few age appropriate ones, at that) that she ended up getting an interest in his career and a mindset to get all of the details. He both hated and admired that in a girl just into her teens. "She got taken by a really bad man, and- Ow!" He looked at his shoulder when she punched it before looking back at her disbelievingly.

"I wasn't a baby four years ago and I'm not a baby now. I'm fourteen, I can handle hearing what happened, Nick!" Cassie glared at him.

Nick sighed. "Fine. The guy who took her is some psycho killer who's killed two of Aunt Cassandra's old team before, and God knows how many else, and he just sent a message to screw with our heads, and now we don't even know if the three he has are alive or not."

Cassie gasped.

Nick nodded. "Wish I kept with 'very bad man', huh?"

Cassie nodded before throwing her arms around his neck.

Nick closed his eyes and hugged her back as tightly as possible before straightening out to address Carl and Mary. "Hi." He adored the two people. He had made sure that Cassie was going into a good family when they had agreed to adopt her. He had even spent a good portion of his time off during one week to observe them at home. Yes, it was stalker-ish, but he didn't give a damn. They seemed fine to him, and they exceeded expectations as time went on.

The two smiled sadly at him and nodded.

Nick shook their hands. "So how bad did she beg to come down here?"

Carl chuckled. "it didn't take much, actually. She heard it over the radio in her school library, then asked about it, and from all her stories about you and the other Cassandra that Cassie here has told us, they knew your girlfriend was really important so they called us to pick her up and bring her here or home. She demanded we take her here."

"Who wouldn't?" Cassie replied.

"Exactly." Nick agreed, then turned his attention to Cassie. "I wish we knew more, sweetheart, but we don't."

"I wanna stay until you do." Cassie insisted.

Nick frowned and tucked a strand of her bangs behind her ear. "Cassie, it… it may not be good news."

"I don't care. If it does end up being bad, I wanna be here for you."

Nick whimpered a bit and pulled her into another hug. "You're the best, you know that?" When she patted his back, he let her go and looked at Carl and Mary. "Do you guys mind?"

Mary shook her head. "She's in good hands here." She took Carl's hand before saying goodbye, and the two left.

Nick sighed. "Everyone's on edge. You sure you wanna stay?"

Cassie nodded. "You're not gonna convince me otherwise."

Nick chuckled. "Alright, let's go see what Catherine's up to. She'll probably tell us to buzz off to the break room, though."

"Then we'll buzz off. Let's go." Cassie insisted.

Nick led her down a couple of hallways until they spotted Catherine in the DNA lab. Nick knocked on the window, then when Catherine looked over, he pointed at Cassie.

Catherine walked over. "You guys are fine. Come on in. Alan, Nick has someone he wants you to meet."

Nick nodded. "Alan, this is the other Cassie in my life, Cassie McBride."

Alan looked from Nick to the girl and back. "The girl that you saved a while back?"

Nick frowned. "How'd you…?"

Alan smirked. "How'd I know? Nick, when I'm about to let one of my best CSIs transfer, I don't just sit on my…" he glanced at Cassie again. "Rear and let it happen. I do my research."

Cassie blinked. "You could've said 'ass' you know. I'm not in elementary school anymore."

Nick half laughed, half coughed and put an arm around her neck. " 'Scuse her. She's get' a teenage spitfire already when the transformation's supposed to start at this age."

Alan smiled. "Nick, I've raised two girls into their adulthood. I know that phase." He looked at Cassandra, then offered his hand. "Sorry about that. Sometimes I forget what new teens see and hear these days. I'm Alan. I used to be Cassandra's boss… well, I'm supposed to be her boss again now, but this happened."

Cassie shook his hand. "Cassie McBride. I'm what you said already."

Alan's smile changed from one of interest to one of instant respect. "Good to meet you."

"Same to you." Cassie replied.

Nick looked at both of them, satisfied of the way it went, then looked at Catherine. "Do we have anything new?"

Catherine shook her head. "No. Not yet, at least. Still at a standstill, and we're still looking for evidence at the other scene.

The group stood in silence for a while until Detective Tony Vartann poked his head into the room. "Hey, guys, I have some- Oh, hi, Cassie. Uh… Outside, then?" he coughed a bit and looked between them. "It's about the… case."

Cassie huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, exaggerating an eye roll. "I can take hearing about the case, you know!"

Nick looked at her. "Wait, so you hit me for keeping quiet, but not him?"

Cassandra frowned. "Vartann's cooler than you."

Tony beamed for a moment before seeming to remember what brought him to the room in the first place. "Sorry, Cassie, but I don't think you can take this one. It's another video feed of this guy, Cass, Greg and…"

"Chuck." Alan cut in.

"Chuck, right.... The guy's going all out now. You should all see this." Tony insisted.

Catherine nodded, then pointed at Nick when he went to follow Alan, who was already at her heels. "You stay with Cassie. Too involved."

Nick sputtered for a bit. "Bu-wha-that's- No! You guys are just as involved!"

Catherine got up in his face this time, keeping her finger at his chin level. "Nick, stay."

Nick blinked and slowly sat down. "…Okay."

He watched the two of them follow Vartann out, and it wasn't until seconds later than Nick seemed to realize he had been conned so easily. "…Ahh!" He he slammed the heel of his hand to his forehead.

"Hey, you fell for it." Cassie pointed out.

"Oh, shut up, Cassie!" He snapped at her, although it was playful.

Cassie sighed, then put her arms on the table and rested her head on them. "So when will they let you see the tape so you can tell me what happened?"

"With my luck and relationship to Cass? Hm. Never." Nick sighed. "We're outta luck for this one."

Cassie pressed her lips into a thin line. It was her way of showing defeat. The two were near-mirror images of each other, just sitting there looking beaten.

After a while, Nick got up. "I'm gonna head home, Cassie. That's the only thing that Catherine will let me do, anyway. It's not gonna be easy for me, but I really don't have a choice."

Cassie nodded. "You have the keys to Cassandra's house?"

"…Yeah, why?"

"Spend the night there. Sure, it'll be depressing, but it'll help n the long run. You'll feel closer to her and if you see a bunch'a her pictures, you'll still have that to keep her going to save her." Cassie replied.

Nick had to smile at the girl's plan. It was a good one, but ceesy at that. Even after what she had been through, she had the best fairytale-esque solutions to everything. It was when he really seemed to grip the connection he made with 'everything she had been through' to what she was suggesting that he stopped. "Is that why you went back to your old house last year?"

Cassie smiled sadly. "Uh huh. Sure, it was sad and all, but… the memories that came back, the good outweighed the bad… now I can't quite get my family back, but you still have hope for your girlfriend, so act on that."

Nick nearly cried again and went over to her. "I love you so damn much, Cassie."

"I know. Love you too. Now take me home then get to her place!"

**A/N: Horrible cut off place, I know, but oh well. I'm really tired at the moment, haha. Anyways, tell me what you thought. Reviews make my day and encourage a faster update.**


	7. Help

**A/N: Onto the chap where I massacre common sense and bring someone back who's clearly dead! … Which kinda gives away who the mystery person is, but not quite. I do two hopefully-not-as-obvious-as-I-think-they-are other hints, too. Ahem, anyways, yeah. This is CSI anyway, after all. Reality and any law of science, physics, etc are massacred in it anyway. This chap's mostly filler, just character development and bonding in the beginning, then it gets to action-y, haha.**

**dollydarwloo: I'm trying to get there, I promise, haha. I have a couple of sections done, but that's it. I gotta get back into it, first. The update will come soon, I assure you.**

* * *

"Dude, I'm takin' you back to the hospital. The way you look, you're about to pass out, and I don't need that right now." Nick ordered, looking at Jake, who had waltzed right over to Nick's truck and gotten inside when Nick was distracted with putting his things in the trunk. "When we find Cassie, you think she'll be thrilled that you had to stay in the hospital for an extra few days for this?!"

Jake rolled his eyes in Nick's direction since he was even too weak to move his head. Whatever drugs were in his system were doing a Hell of a number on him. "No, 'cause she'll be happ' I'm 'wake." Jake slurred.

Nick frowned at him before turning the steering wheel and heading in the direction of the hospital.

Jake scoffed. "Come on, man!"

Nick shook his head. "No way. You're in way too bad shape, man. You're going."

"The docs will kill me."

"I'll vouch for you. I'm just taking you back."

"There's no winning against you, is there?"

"No."

"Then fie. Take me back to Hell."

"Thank you."

* * *

After some difficultly and a very interesting talk with a few doctors and officials at the hospital, Nick had squared Jake away and the younger man was set to spend a few more days in the hospital. What he didn't count on was how lonely the car ride back to Cassandra's place actually was with him gone. Now there was no Little Cassie, and no Jake, drugged up or not, to make comments and try and lighten the situation. When he reached her front door, he suddenly felt like he was breaking and entering. Guilt took him and he was about to turn and head back to his place, but then he imagined the disapproving look Cassie would give him if he told her he didn't stay. Sure, he could always lie to her and say he went, but not only did she always know when someone lied, he just couldn't lie to her. "Damn it." He bent down, got the spare key from inside the hollowed out falcon statue that was by the edge of the stairs, then unlocked the door and stepped inside. What he didn't count on, however, was hearing someone inside the house, somewhere close inside the living room. The other set of footsteps stopped the second the door creaked, so Nick acted fast. He took a blind swing in the direction of the footsteps, causing the intruder to cry out in pain, then Nick leaned back and hit the light switch. His heart skipped a beat when he saw that the intruder was in fact Liam, who was now half on the floor, half on the couch, holding his hand to his jaw. "Oh my God! Are you alright?! I'm sorry, I didn't…"

Liam looked at him and sighed. "Nicolas, I'm fine. You obviously didn't know it was me and felt the need to protect the place." He had to chuckle. "A bit too much, if I do say so myself, but noble of you."

Nick laughed nervously. "Uh… heh. I know where Cass has an ice pack, if you want one…" He tried to figure out how he could apologize without seeming as mortified as he was.

"Please do. Help an old man up first, will you?"

Nick could've cried. He didn't necessarily consider Liam an old man, but the fact that Liam used the term in that sentence got to him. "Sure." He helped the other man up. "Uh… look. I really am sorry. But… why were you here anyway?"

Liam shrugged. "Checking up on the place, same as you. Seeing if we could get any clues from something here. Clearly I was wrong."

"Hm." Nick nodded, then chuckled, remembering that Liam was the third person Nick had encountered at Cassandra's house under odd terms. First there was Jake and Max with the staged robbery, and now Liam with the … well, he wasn't quite sure what he had expected. "Let me get you that ice pack…" He wandered into the kitchen and got the said item for the fridge, but not before slapping his forehead and running his hand down his face. "Idiot." He growled to himself before going into the bathroom. He got a washcloth to cover the ice pack, then went back into the other room. He sat beside Liam. "How bad I get ya?"

Liam raised his eyebrows. "Pretty good. Hopefully not bad enough to bruise."

Nick smiled weakly in sympathy. "Really, I'm sorry."

"Oh, hush. You didn't know. I came in the back. I should' be turned the lights on in the front. It's my own fault."

"No, I should've asked who was there, then thrown the punch."

Liam shrugged. "Well, that is true."

Nick laughed. "So… you really thought there might've been something to go on back here?"

Liam leaned back. "Nick, it's time for a history lesson with this… monster. Not only has he killed, but he's stolen, conned, everything but raped. That's one interesting bit. The other- it's like Lars wants to be caught. He does one of his deeds, then shortly after, goes to a victim's home and leaves something of his or the victim's out in the open. It seems hidden in plain sight, but if you really think about it, it never is. A wallet in the bathroom, a fountain pen in the middle of a kitchen table, anything… " He glanced around the room. "Which means he's either hunted down Chuck or your boy's address and left something there, or he hasn't arrived yet."

"Greg."

"Hm?"

" 'Our boy'. His name's Greg."

"Right. Sorry."

Nick joined him looking around the room. "You sure nothin' seems weird?"

Liam shrugged. "Not here, no. Then again, I've only spoken to her on the telephone until now. You're the one fornicating with her."

Nick's eyes widened and his head snapped in Liam's direction. "Excuse me?!"

Liam looked at him, then cringe. "My God. Looks like you and I both have quite a lot to apologize for tonight. With this whole thing… I'm not myself. Feel free to punch me again, if you'd like."

Nick licked his lips, still stunned, but decided to throw it away. However, after the awkward silence that followed, he changed his mind. "It's not… we really didn't want to… ahem, uh… do it, you know, if that… affects your view on me right off the bat. We were gonna wait, then uh…well, the loss of another one of our guys, Warrick Brown… well, it took a toll on both of us, and…we just needed each other the night we found out, and one thing led to another, and… yeah… so now she's pregnant from that now, too." He explained.

"Ah." Liam nodded, then waited a couple of seconds before continuing. "And why did you decide to tell me this?"

Nick paused again, then laughed. "You know, I have no idea."

The two chuckled for a while, until Nick glanced over at the table on the opposite wall. A good portion of it had several pictures on it, ranging from pictures of him and Cassandra together, to Cassandra and other members of his team, then others that he never seemed to have noticed. Now that he recognized most of the faces in them from the Henderson team, he finally really saw them. The furthest couple were of Cassandra, Bryce and Liam, then the other was of a very much younger Cassandra with a younger Liam as well. While she was in a blue and white robe in the picture, he had a black and blue one on. "So, now that I've just blurted something about Cass' and my sex life to you, my turn for a question. How long have you known her?"

Liam let out a single chuckle, then looked up. "Oh, heavens. How long has it been, now?" He looked side to side, then nodded. "She was in 9th grade, I believe, when we met."

Nick frowned. "No way. Really? You guys have known each other that long?"

Liam nodded. "Corny as it is, it seems like higher powers wanted us together somehow. I taught most of her high school's forensics classes when she was in high school, then a year before she graduated I got a job offer at the college that she just happened to go to. It seems fake, but I swear to you, it's not."

Nick shook his head. "I believe you, sir."

"Liam or Will, please."

"Alright, Liam it is."

"Good." Liam nodded.

Nick nodded back. "So where's your son?"

Liam shrugged. "Well, with Cassandra and I knowing each other for so long, she's become the older sibling Bryce has never had. I offered for him to come, but he was too shaken up. He refused to come for fear of a breakdown, the poor man." He looked down at his hands.

Nick licked his lips. "We're gonna find her. Greg and Chuck, too. We're gonna get all of them back safe and sound."

Liam sighed. "One can only hope, son. One can only hope."

Nick nodded. "Hey, uh, a friend of mine is making me stay here tonight. I could use the company, if you'd like to stay."

"I'd love to."

* * *

Cassandra flinched when the sudden brightness of early morning light hit her face. She didn't know when she had fallen asleep the previous night or earlier that morning (she couldn't even tell anymore), but she mentally kicked herself when she did so. She sat up defiantly when her eyes focused on Lars' face. That was the last thing she ever wanted to see first thing after she woke up. With some difficultly, being that her hands were bound in front of her, she managed to right herself and get into a kneeling position.

Lars smiled- if that's what you wanted to call an almost maniacal smirk. "Good morning, starshine. The Earth says Hello."

"Go to Hell, Lars." She looked around and panicked, trying hard to keep it from showing when she saw Greg and Chuck were nowhere in sight. "What did you do to my friends, you bastard."

"Nothing, dear. You give me too much credit." Lars replied. Another smirk.

"We're right behind you, Cass."

Cassandra turned around at the sound of Greg's voice. While Greg's eyes were on hers, Chuck's weren't leaving Lars. The detective looked like a bull ready but unable to charge. Without a thought, she shifted so she was able to get off of her knees and onto her feet, backing up to stand with them. "What do you want this time?"

Lars rose as well. "I want our dear Alan to finally admit something to me."

"'n shwhy are needed?" Chuck demanded, then flinched at his messed up voice.

Lars turned his attention to Lars. "Oh, you poor fool. I can have someone look at that for you."

"Rather die." Chuck replied, happy that the reply came out alright.

Lars frowned and advanced on him, simply smiling as Cassandra stepped in front of him protectively. He backhanded her quickly, sending her flying back into Greg, who grabbed hold of her to steady her. Lars closed the gap between him and Chuck. "You be careful what you say to me, boy. You forget, that wish is easily taken care of with me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other business to attend to."

"So what was the point of getting me up, then?" Cassandra frowned.

Lars smiled once more. "You're part of it, my dear. Just as you were before." With that, he grabbed the middle of the ropes he had put her hands in, then yanked her up and out of the room.

When the door was about to close, Chuck charged at it, getting to it a moment too late. He stomped his foot, then threw his body weight against it. Once, twice, three times.

"It probably opens from the outside and outside only, man."

Chuck shot him a 'no shit Sherlock' look.

Greg shrugged. "Hey, we just have to find a way to get out, maybe when he gets back?"

Chuck let out a frustrated groan, put his back to the wall, then slid down it in temporary defeat. It was going to seem like it was twice or three times the time it took Lars to return. He wished he knew more.

* * *

Unknown to anyone, as the morning events were about to unfold, a lone man sat against a large rock jutting out from the ground. It was up a hill that was about a hundred feet away from the building that Lars was emerging from. He was counting his blessings that no one had found him yet…well, the very few blessings he had. He reached for his gun. "There you are, you cheeky bastard. Let's see what happens when you fight fire with fire." He raised the gun, risking a few seconds to judge what would be a good shot- or at least a decent warning shot, with his piece and the distance between him and his target. However, he slowly lowered the gun when he saw Cassandra getting dragged behind Lars. "What the Hell? Can it…?" He got lower and army crawled closer, finding another decent sized rock. He swallowed hard, realizing that he knew her. "Shit. Something always has to happen, don't it?" He crawled back to his original spot, then took out his cell phone and punched in a number. "Yeah. There's trouble down at the old Havenbore warehouse… No, I don't know what it is, but there's someone with a gun… and they have a hostage…" He hung up, took the cell phone in his jacket and wiped it down, then tossed it a couple of feet away before getting up slowly and heading towards the rocks that let away from the area. It was the only way of losing them, and although they could track him to a point, he was willing to take that risk. "Don't screw this one up, people…"


	8. Scapegoat

Lars looked back at Cassandra, who had given up the escape attempts about twenty seconds ago and was now lagging behind him as he dragged her towards another part of the grounds they were on.

"What do you want?" She growled.

"I told you what I want, Cassandra."

"If you want Alan, then why did you take us?" she questioned.

"I took you, my dear, because you are the key to the means of me… getting to him. You'll be a great help in the cause. Your bodyguard and the young one were collateral damage. A simple case of wrong place, wrong time."

"Then let them go."

Lars laughed. "Do you think they'd go willingly knowing I have you right where I want you?"

Cassandra's skin crawled. She hid the shudder. "Who knows?"

Lars laughed again. "Ah, Cassandra. How I missed your wit."

She scowled again. How could she have been so stupid in college? How could she not have seen the genius was madness within? She had helped a brilliant scientist, not a homicidal maniac. She winced. She wished she could've gone back in time and turned the corner instead of running into him so he wouldn't ask for her help in a little Chemistry project. Goddamn it, those plans for whatever he had been working on had led to part of his first murder spree. She remembered she had felt completely guilty when she first heard about it. Now she knew it was all him, but she was still terrified. "What do you want this time?"

Lars looked at her and raised an eyebrow before leading her over to a small building, the size of a large shed. "Come and see."

She looked around, suddenly wishing Chuck had been with her. Sure, Greg could probably fight Lars easy, but Chuck had at least two times Greg's strength- and a Hell of a lot of martial arts training.

"Come on." Lars instructed, taking her arms and cutting her bonds. "I promise, I'm not going to hurt you." She could hear the sarcasm in his voice. Sure enough, he smiled that dark smile again. "…Yet." She sighed, then walked towards the door, looking around for anything she could use as a weapon. At the same time, she knew he was playing with her again. Why did he cut her lose? She went inside the room and frowned, seeing several materials lined up on various shelves. Her heart just about stopped when several of the material's uses she considered crossed over with each other. "You bastard." She whirled on him. "You're building a bomb?"

He clapped. "I knew you'd catch on. You always were clever."

She scowled yet again and went to take a backhanded swing at him, but he caught her hand and forced it down and twisted it, causing her to yelp. He leaned into her. "I wouldn't suggest you do that, Miss. Sidle. Especially in your state of being with child, hm?"

She froze, not at all expecting to hear he knew. She didn't even want to know how. She had the sudden urge to change all her doctors once she was safe.

Lars laughed. "Oh yes. I know. It's not your doctors, I assure you. One closer to home."

The lab? Cassandra wondered, then shook her head. He was probably playing her… again. "So what do you want me to help you with?"

"Construction, the fine tuning…" he grinned. "Everything."

She flinched, realizing she was boxed in. If she said no, she was dead. "I can't do it all on my own. I need my friends."

"Name them."

"The other two you took, asshole." She replied.

"Ah yes. Charles and the blonde one."

"His name's Greg."

"Whatever. Tell me, how is Charles? Is he over his partner's death-"

"You mean murder?" She glared at him.

Lars grinned all the same. "Yes, murder. Still hates me?"

"Who doesn't, you bastard?" She replied.

Lars' grin remained intact. "I'll have to speak with the man soon."

"You stay away from him."

"Who are you to stop me?" Lars replied.

She scowled. "Shut up. Bring me back to them. I saw what you wanted me to see." She replied.

"Will you consider the offer?" Lars replied.

"Do I have a choice, once again?" She replied.

Lars' eyes twinkled, and he extended his hand. "No, darling. You don't."

Cassandra flinched before taking his hand and letting him lead her back.

Nick glanced up when he heard Liam walking around the upper floor of Cassandra's house. "Hey, Liam? I'm gonna give Cath a call and see if they have anything new. You wanna come down and I'll put it on speaker?"

"Well, to be quite honest, I'm more busy trying to figure out who's pulled up across the street."

Nick froze. Across the street? Who could've been at his house at this time that Liam wouldn't recognize by now? Shit. He practically dove to the window and pulled the curtains back. He let out a relieved sigh when he saw that one of the people across the street as Cassandra's foster brother, Max. He hadn't seen the man in ages and was getting pissed that the man hadn't showed up since her kidnapping. He now knew Max was actually the decent guy he seemed to be. He struggled to see the second person, then saw their- rather, her face, at the same time, judging by Liam's "oh" that came from upstairs. Sara was with Max, and she was standing by as her brother pounded on Nick's door. "It's fine. You obviously see Sara, that's-"

"Her brother _Maximilian_, yes."

Nick laughed. "What's with you and always using full names, man?"

"I was raised that way." Liam replied, descending the stairs. "Now let's see them before he breaks down the door, shall we? Does he know he has the wrong house?"

"He doesn't have it wrong. That's my place." Nick replied, opening the door. "Max! Sara! We're over here!"

The siblings were across the street in seconds, and before Nick knew it, both of them had one of their hands gripping his collar. "Tell us what's going on. Now." They both ordered.

Nick blinked. "Not the welcome I was expecting-"

"Nick!"

"Yeah, well, we don't know much more than you two probably have heard, but-"

"…Liam!"

Nick blinked again as Sara dodged around him and hurried over to Liam as the older man came out of the house. She hugged him. "I can't believe you're here. Are you okay? How are you holding up? Is Bryce taking it okay?"

Liam nodded, then paused. "I'm here for all of you, and Bryce… he's… himself… translation-"

"Killing him inside but he's trying to smile and take it in strides." Sara finished for him.

"Precisely." Liam nodded.

Sara smiled. "He hasn't changed since last I saw him."

"No, he hasn't." Liam agreed. "So… how have you been? … Besides finding about Cassandra's… situation."

"Could be better either way." Sara replied.

"Hm. Oh, and what about that friend of yours… Phil… no! Gil! That was it. Gil… Grissom, was it?"

Sara smiled weakly and lifted her hand that had the engagement ring on. Liam smiled. "Congratulations, my dear."

She nodded. "Thanks."

Nick twitched slightly, then shook his head. Getting jealous over the fact that they were apparently happy was ridiculous. Maybe it was the ring that got to him the most. He flinched as the fact that he had planned to propose to Cassandra two days from now came slamming into his head. So much for that, unless a miracle happened. "So, how'd you guys hear about this?"

"News." Max replied.

Sarah pointed at Max. "He called. Hell of a lot of money for a call to where I was, but it was worth it. I got the next flight out, he picked me up at the airport-"

"And here we are." Max concluded. "Now, is there anything we can do to help?"

"Well, we could use Sara's help in the lab…" He caught Max's annoyed look. "Max, come on, man. I don't know what to tell you. You don't have much law enforcement background-"

"Then what can I do without it? Yeah, Cassie's not my blood sister, she's my foster sister, but 'sister' is what matters there. I wanna help."

Nick hesitated. "You'll hate me, but… talk to the press. Get sympathy from the people… it'll help with the case."

"So be LVPD's scapegoat." Max deadpanned.

Nick shook his head. "Max, as your sister's boyfriend, you really think I'd reduce you to that? No. It's something to do so you don't feel useless right now."

"Like I already do?" Max demanded.

"Max, please…"

Max sighed. "…I'm sorry. I'm just…"

"Worried? Scared?" Nick put a comforting hand on the younger man's shoulder. "We call are, Maxie. We'll get her back."

"What if we don't? What if she, Greg and Chuck are…" Max trailed off, not allowing himself to go on.

Nick gave his shoulder a squeeze. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it… if we come to it… which we won't." In the end, Nick wasn't quite sure who he was trying to convince more- Max or himself.

"….Ga-aaaah!" Chuck stumbled backwards for the third time as he continued to attempt to kick down the door or their small prison-like-cell. Once Lars had shoved Cassandra back in, the detective had been Hell bent on finding a way out.

"Chuck, forget it. It's not happening."

Chuck looked at her, and he suddenly reminded her of the caged tiger that she and Nick had seen on the way to one of their crime scenes months ago. With one final kick to the door, Chuck backed off and turned to Cassandra once more. He started moving his hands rapidly.

It took Greg a while to realize what he was doing. "Dude, are you signing?"

Chuck used one hand to thumbs-up Greg, then looked back at Cassandra, who seemed to be attempting to translate the motions into words. By the looks of it, she wasn't doing too well.

She sighed. "Chuck, you know how long it's been since I practiced that? I can't really understand…"

Chuck pointed at his nose and frowned.

She rolled her eyes. "You just don't want to talk because you think you sound like an idiot."

"Exac-hy."

Cassandra sighed. "Whatever. I'll try translating. Do it again." She followed his movements more closely. "You want to go to the movies with your friends?" She cringed.

Chuck slapped his forehead, then dragged his hand down his face as best he could without hitting his nose. He tried again, this time spelling out the words.

Cassandra understood this time around. "I have no idea if he'll go for that. He and I… we go back, as you know."

Greg finally cut in. "Go for what? Wait, you know this guy? Come on! Tell me what the Hell you guys are getting at… and how do you know sign language? Both of you? I swear, if you guys do that back and forth and leave me hanging like this-"

"Greg, shut up. Answer to question one: He asked when we'd all get dragged out of here as opposed to me. Question two- his mom went deaf when he was a kid, so he and his dad learned it. I had a few classes in high school and college, which is why I barely remember a damn thing. That's all."

"No it's not. I asked you how you knew-"

"That's not important right now." Cassandra cut the younger man off.

"Cass, we may die. I think now's the time to fess up, don't you think?" Greg asked.

"No. Greg, seriously, drop it. Wrong time. I-" Cassandra stopped when the door swung open and the outside light blinded them briefly. Once the stars cleared from the group's vision, a very angry looking Lars came into focus.

Chuck was in front of Greg and Cassandra in a moment, ready to protect them by any means possible.

Lars studied him. "No. They wouldn't have understood you… Which leads to you two…" He turned his attention back to Greg and Cassandra. "So which of you was it, hm? How did you do it?"

"Do what?" Greg blinked.

"Oh, don't you know?" Lars replied, advancing on him.

He went too fast for Chuck's liking. With a couple of complicated sidesteps, Chuck made it between Lars and Chuck and shoved their captor back. Bad move on his part, because the next thing he knew, he had gotten punched in the stomach, then kneed in the same spot, causing him to fall backwards. Cassandra caught him at the last moment, so his upper back was hovering just above the ground.

Lars pointed behind him, and the other three finally noticed the sounds of sirens in the background. They were getting louder. There was hope. Lars swept down, pulled Chuck to his feet, then pulled a gun from his pocket, and shoved it against the man's neck.

Cassandra and Greg tensed, fearing the worst.

"Screw you, asshole!" Chuck grumbled.

Lars pressed the gun closer to the man's skin. "I wouldn't go there at the moment, boy." He looked at the others. "Now, let's show your friends that I'm not to be trifled with, shall we?" He nodded out the door. "Out, or dear Charles here will be joining his partner sooner than I'm sure you all would like."

Cassandra glared at him, then moved the room, followed closely by Greg. After a few seconds, Greg leaned over, "So what's the escape plan?"

"There is none." Cassandra replied.

Greg stopped in his tracks. "None?"

"None." She replied, grabbing his hand to give it a tug in the direction he wanted them to go- right in the middle of the stretch of land in front of the area they were in. Both watched as police pulled up and stopped, shouting amongst themselves as well as at Lars. Cassandra's heart just about broke for Jim when she saw him see the three of them and go pale at the sight at one of them at gunpoint.

Lars laughed, despite the situation. He tossed his arms out. "Glad to see you all came to enjoy the show!"

"Show? What show?" Jim mumbled from a few feet away. "I want at least five guns on him. I don't like this."

"None of us do." One of the S.W.A.T leaders muttered beside him. Jim wanted so badly to shove the man against the van behind them and beat the crap out of him… after shooting this Lars guy between the eyes, that was. He frowned when Lars started fishing around in his pocket with his free hand. "What's he doing- What's he doing?" He gulped, recognizing the small device Lars pulled out. "Sit. Get our guys up front to pull back. Now!" He barked into a walkie-talkie.

"Why?" came a crackled reply.

Jim wanted to punch this guy, too. Wasn't it obvious what the Hell it was?"

"And now, the fine men and women, I bid you all farewell, because… well, none of us can quite keep this date, can we?" With that, he pressed the button that was on the device, and the building behind them- the largest on the grounds, exploded.

Once the dust cleared and it was presumed the danger was over, Jim was one of the first ones upright again on his side. "CASSIE? GREG?" he ran forwards, closing the distance between where he and the others had been. His heart was pounding, praying that Lars hadn't just ended everything- including the lives of his friends. "SIDLE! SANDERS! ANSWER ME!" he barked, but there was nothing. He looked around, looking for any trace of them. No blood… no body parts, he added the last with a shudder. Just where the Hell had they gone? He looked around more frantically now, until he noticed a tread from what looked like a military boot. Somehow, it was undisturbed, so he figured it was after the fact. It was masculine, so it ruled out Cassandra, too big to be Greg's, so it could've either been Chuck's or Lars. Somehow he doubted Lars would be limping or dragging himself out of there, so Chuck's was his new best bet. He didn't care if he was wrong, it was just hope that the others were still alive. He looked back at the line of still-stunned police and S.W.A.T officers. "I want four people with me… now. We may have a trail!"

The man who had called in the incident was back in his original spot, now looking down at the grounds, a stunned look on his face. Of all the things he had imagined, that wasn't one of them. Hell, he had already thought up a plan if it was just a 'hey look, I have hostages so if you mess with me, they die' moments. The explosion and disappearance did complicate things. "It's always me… damn it. They're lucky I like a good chase."


	9. Dead Man Walking

**A/N: This chapter's super short because I have more time constraints… it leaves you on a cliffhanger that I may lose a lot of people with, too. However, it may also keep people interested. I hope it's the latter. Enjoy and review.**

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* * *

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The small gathered crowd that was in Cassandra's house jumped slightly when they heard keys jingle in the keyhole of Cassandra's front door, then only relaxed when they recognized Jake as the person on the other side who just unlocked it. The man saw all the stunned looks and laughed nervously. "Sorry. Just checkin' in." He saw Nick's stunned look turn to one of annoyance. "Oh, relax, Stokes. This time I really got discharged."

"Lemme see the paperwork." Nick ordered.

Jake took it out and closed the distance between Nick and himself, not at all noticing Max and Sara at first. He tossed the paperwork into Nick's lap, then saw the two guests that he hadn't seen recently. "Sara. Max."

Max nodded at his friend, while Sarah got up to hug him. Jake returned the hug and held her for a while, letting the silence do the talking. He finally pulled away, put kept his hand on her shoulder. "Have there been any new update since you sent me back there?"

Nick rolled his eyes. "No updates, and I brought you back so you could recover fully, man!"

"Yeah, it was fine until they had to change my nurse- the new one was my ex girlfriend!"

Liam frowned and tilted his head. "Lynn? The one you were going to marry the last time we spoke before Cassie's transfer?"

"No, that's my ex-wife… the one who tried to kill Cassie the first time." Jake replied.

Liam dropped the mug of coffee he had, and Nick caught it before it got past the tabletop level. The coroner continued to sputter. "You mean… your…?"

Jake nodded. "Okay, new subject… someone, please…"

Nick chuckled, then looked over his shoulder when the phone rang. "What the Hell? Who doesn't know she's missing? Goddamn telemarketers…" He picked up the phone. "Cassandra Sidle's house."

"Nicky… I need you to pass a message onto Cath, okay?"

Nick dropped the phone and picked it up in record time. "Cass?"

Miles away, Cassandra flinched and waited for the sudden scuffle of chairs and feet to stop on the other line. "I mean it, Nick. Get paper or something… Lars wants to make a meeting with you guys…"

"Cass, are you- you, Greg, and Chuck… are y'all okay? Did he hurt you?"

"Aside from hurting our pride and the gun pressed to my head right now, I'm fine." She flinched once more, realizing she could've done without the sarcasm. She could just imagine Nick's heart just dropping. Hell, she couldn't help it, it was her version of nervous laughter- it was a coping device. "Look… just write down the address, right?" She asked, casting a glance at Lars, who was standing above her, doing the action she had told Nick he was.

"O… okay…" came Nick's hesitant reply.

Cassandra read the address on the paper that Lars' was holding in his vacant hand, then sighed. "We'll be okay, Nick. I promise." She just glared up at Lars defiantly when he pressed the gun closer to her head.

"…You sure?"

"Nicolas, I'm sure." Cassandra growled.

"Okay, alright… I uh… I love you, Cass."

She nearly laughed. _Of all the times…_ "Love you too, Nick."

And the line went dead.

* * *

Miles away, Cassandra could've killed Lars then and there for taking the phone and hanging up. She looked at him. "Think you're a big man, bullying us into submitting to you?"

Lars slowly grinned. "Of course. Where's the fun in doing otherwise?"

"Bastard." Chuck scoffed from the corner of the room they were in.

"Did I ask you? Now shut it, or she gets a bullet to the head." He threatened, now waving the gun.

Chuck quite literally snarled at him, then looked at Cassandra and sent her an apologetic look. The tense moment was suddenly disturbed when a gunshot rang out from somewhere outside.

Apparently, for once, Lars was caught off guard, pointedly when a bright light shone through one of the windows briefly. "What the Hell?" Lars took a step towards the window, then seemed to have common sense enough to stop. However, that didn't help him much, because a moment later, something broke one of the small glass panes of the window.

Cassandra, Chuck and Greg all jumped back in alarm, then stared in confusion when they realized it was an arm that came through the glass- and the hand attached to it was currently in a fist that was gripping Lars by the front of his caller.

"Never go towards a light when you're alive, Idiot."

The voice came from outside, the owner of the arm, perhaps. The three captives just continued to gawk when whoever was on the other side of the door yanked Lars forward, causing the criminal's head to connect with the door at a force that knocked him out.

The other three held their breath when the mystery man reached down and unlocked the door before turning the knob and forcing it open slowly so Lars' deadweight wouldn't interfere.

The mystery man- their rescuer, they realized, finally stepped through. His head was down at first, but when he looked up at them and gave that smirk, Cassandra nearly let out a yelp. She thought she had recognized the voice, and now she definitely recognized him.

"Hello, Cassie, Greg, Chuck."

The other three gaped once more, because they all knew one thing. The last time they checked, dead men didn't save people, stand there and smirk, then greet the people he saved.

Least of all Michael Keppler.

But that all seemed wrong now, being that the man was standing right in front of them.


	10. Shut Up and Walk

Bryce hummed to himself as he looked at some of the photos in the office that Rachel and Zach shared. There were scattered pictures of the whole team, including Cassie. Looking over them was just about the only thing holding him together. There were pictures of his father and Alan together, then a few of the entire group. There was one with Chuck, Zach and Cassandra in the "Charlie's Angels" pose. Another had the Keppler siblings, one of the old ones even had Mike in it. Other random shots also lined the shelves . Then, one of his favorites for obvious reasons, there was one that was a closeup of himself and Cassandra, cheek to cheek and smiling while squeezing their eyes shut. He sighed. The happy memories were all he could go by at the moment. If he started thinking of the negative possibilities that could come from the situation, he would be destroyed. Yes, Cassandra had been in the situation before and gotten out, but Chuck hadn't. His heart went out to the young man. The memory that Chuck had a fiancée hit him. He remembered she had been notified about the situation, but he could barely imagine what was going through her head. He sighed and scratched the stubble on his cheek. "Hang in there, guys…" He turned on his heel and left the office. When he turned the corner to head towards the elevator, he rammed right into someone. He started sputtering apologies and felt even worse when he realized he had rammed into a blonde girl that didn't look much younger than him. "Oh, I'm sorry. Wasn't quite looking where I was going. Are you alright?" He looked at her and couldn't help but think he had seen her before. He offered a smile to make her feel less embarrassed.

The young woman nodded quickly. "Yeah, I'm fine. I wasn't looking, either… um… do you know where I can find Alan Sykes?"

Bryce's smile faded. "Yes, but… er… can I ask why?"

Catherine looked up at the Henderson crime lab and sighed. Telling Alan and the rest of the team that there were no new developments in Cassandra's case. Jake nearly kicked a chair halfway down the hall back at their lab after the third hour of no new leads. Jim barely managed to get him out the door and tell him to go home, or to Nick's, but he succeeded. Nick was calling every few minutes, and Sara and Max were overheard in the background for two thirds of those calls. She headed up the stairs and into the building. She smiled at the officer at the front desk. "Hi, I'm Catherine Willows, from the Vegas-"

"Crime lab. Alan said to expect you any time. Take that hallway, hang two rights, then it's the second door." The woman returned the smile and pointed to the hallway to her left. "Good luck finding your people, by the way."

"Thank you." Catherine smiled again, then headed down the hallway and followed the woman's directions. She reached the second door and spotted Alan through the window. He was hovering over a file. She knocked on the door.

Alan glanced up and motioned for her to come in before looking back at the file.

Catherine entered. "Hi."

"Hi. Anything new?" Alan asked, then saw her attention was focused on the file in his hand. He held it up. "Some of Lars' old cases. Wanted to see if any areas got a lot of hits… anything that could help us, really."

"Hm… and no, to answer your question.. I came to tell you that there are no new leads."

Alan cursed and leaned back, shaking his head. "This is ridiculous. Seriously, nothing after the place got blown up?"

"Nothing. They're in the wind. All of them." Catherine replied.

Alan sighed. "I don't even know what to say anymore."

"I don't either, if that helps." Catherine replied.

Alan licked his lips, then glanced up when he saw movement out of the window. Bryce was on the other side, waving, mouthing 'someone's here to see you.'

Alan narrowed his eyes, then went to the door and opened it. "Who is it, Bryce?"

Bryce opened his mouth, let out a nervous laugh, then pointed at the blonde woman. "She is…"

Catherine frowned, looking between all three. She wanted to know why Bryce hadn't just said her name, but judging by Alan's facial expression, he already knew her.

Alan scowled. "Bryce… I understand you were trying to help, but… get this girl the Hell out of my sight… right now."

Bryce froze and rose his eyebrows. Out of all of the reactions he expected, that wasn't on of them. "Er…" His jaw remained open, at a loss for words.

The young woman blushed and hung her head. She turned to leave, and Bryce followed suit.

Catherine shook her head. "Hold on, miss. Alan, who is this?"

Alan turned to her, but the coldness in his eyes didn't leave. "Catherine, meet Alexia… Lars' daughter."

* * *

Chuck, Greg and Cassandra all gawked as Mike stepped over Lars' body. There was no way… was there? How could Michael Keppler be in front of them? Hell, how could he be alive? Greg was the first to find his voice. "I'm not crazy, right? We all see 'em?"

"Unless we're all hallucinating, yes." Chuck replied.

Mike arched an eyebrow at them. He couldn't quite blame them for being surprised. It was his fault that he hadn't seen them since the medics brought him back to the land of the living in the ambulance. He hid a flinch. That had been four years ago. Shit. Had it really been that long? He sighed as they continued to stare. "You guys won't take my word if I said I was only dead for seven and a half minutes, right?"

"No." Greg managed to squeak.

Cassandra closed the distance between her friends and Mike, giving the man a light shove.

Mike moved back with it, but righted himself. "Satisfied I'm not a ghost or hallucination now?" The question was directed at the three, but his eyes never left hers.

Cassandra looked up and him, stunned, then backed up. "You're really here."

Mike shrugged. "Guilty."

Chuck shook his head. "No. No way. We're in Hell… or Heaven… or we all went crazy simultaneously… or I just went crazy or died and I'm still in his hole. This cannot be real! This guy died! He was murdered! It's… a dream, a nightmare!"

Mike looked down at Lars and nudged his body with the toe of his shoe. "Well, this guy might beg to differ when he wakes up. Which reminds me." Mike nodded at the door. "You can decide if I'm alive and here later. Let's get you out of here now."

The other three looked at each other, but realized he had a point. The door was open now, anyway. They followed him out. Mike led them over a few hills, and as he did so, the three talked about how this was possible and impossible. Despite her companions' arguments, Cassandra was starting to wonder if it wasn't so improbable that Mike was alive. After an argument with herself, she sighed and jogged up to fall into stride with him. "Mike, slow down. You can't just drop this on us and expect us to accept it."

"I believe I just did." Mike smirked. "So, Cassie… I hear you transferred to Vegas a while back."

Cassandra paused and raised her eyebrows, then chased after him. "Wait. How did you know that?"

"I told you. I've been alive. I've just been under the radar."

"For four years?"

"Just about." Mike replied.

Cassandra stared at him. "With no word to family or friends."

"They're better off without me. Let's stop there. I asked you first. So… you sleeping with one of the boys yet?"

"Excuse me?"

Mike looked at her and smirked once again. "Come on, Cass. I know you. You helped send Asshole Josh to prison a while back, and each and very guy is your type of guy. Who are you with? Stokes?" He paused and looked down the hill. "Sanders? Brown?"

"Warrick is dead, Mike." Cassandra replied. Her resolve faded upon the memory of the crime scene dedicated to his murder. "He got shot by a dirty cop."

"No…" Mike murmured, disbelievingly.

Cassandra shook her head. "I kid you not."

Mike frowned. "I'm sorry, then."

Cassandra nodded. "It's okay… and it is Nick, by the way… Nick and I are together… I'm pregnant with his kid right now."

Mike raised his eyebrows. "Hell. I might be a single bombshell to you three, but two against me… wow." He nodded his head, then narrowed his eyes. "Stokes? Really? He's not to whiny for you?"

Cassandra scoffed and shook her head.

Mike sighed. "Alright. I asked you. You ask me. Question away."

Cassandra looked at him. "…I believe you're alive. Just… why not tell anyone?"

"Part of it- for my family and friends' safety… the other… just no desire to go back."

"Chris and Kaylee were destroyed about it, Mike. Kaylee still is." Cassandra frowned.

"It's better that way." He replied with a sigh. Maybe it was a bad idea to let her ask, after all. The subject matter wasn't one he wanted to get into. He might've seemed like the detached guy, but when it came to family, they were his life. "It's better this way."

"How?"

Mike looked at her. "If you were ever in my situation, you would understand."

"No, I don't think I will." Cassandra replied.

Mike shrugged. "Fair enough… "

Cassandra just shook her head in response. "I just… don't get how you could come back and… not contact family or friends until now…"

"Not true. You should know."

Cassandra scoffed. "Right."

"Don't be so quick to blow me off. I helped you out three times in the same way."

"Oh?"

"Asshole Josh."

Cassandra flinched at the mention of her ex, as well as the nickname. How Mike knew his most common nickname, she would never know. "And how did you 'help' with him?"

"Those three times he got mugged- without the robbery aspect."

Cassandra crossed her arms over her chest and arched an eyebrow. "No…"

Mike nodded and pointed pointed at himself. "Did some digging, found out he was cheating, beat him to a pulp the first time, threatening to drop you or the bitch so you wouldn't get hurt. Didn't work, did it again… and again."

Cassandra wasn't quite sure what to think. "Uh…"

Mike shrugged. "Wish it coulda gotten through to him, but I guess some jailtime and having another guy sweep you off your feet showed him, huh?"

"Guess so?" Cassandra replied uncertainly. "Alright, that's one for me. What about Chris or Kales?"

"I knew his girl Bella before he did. Hell, I sent her into the store they met at. Kales… I've… too many things to list, from being protective against asshole boyfriends like Ib was with you, to giving little references to stuff we've done together to show I was watchin' over her- from this life or the next."

"Wow, Mike Keppler, the spiritual type. For a guy who killed on a hunch, who knew?" She didn't know where her animosity came from, but it was there, plain and simple. She knew she couldn't stop it, either.

"That hurts, Cassie."

"Good. Now you know how your family and friends felt." Cassandra shot back.

Mike scowled. "Whatever. Let's just get you home. Where are the others?"

"Already here." Chuck replied from a few feet away, with Greg in tow.

Mike raised his eyebrows. "Alright then. I passed some barbeque place a couple of miles down the road-"

"No! No barbeque places!" Greg shook his head. "If we need a pay phone, let's go to a gas station. No barbeque places in the middle of nowhere. No, no, no! Not doing that ever again!"

Mike raised his eyebrows. "Fine. Gas station it is. That's further up."

A couple of hours later, they reached the gas station. After arguing with the owner for a few minutes, they were shown the pay phone in the back of the building. Cassandra wondered if it was the only one left in Vegas.

"Nick's number change in the past couple of years?" Mike asked, looking at Greg and Cassandra as his fingers hovered over the keys.

"…No?" Greg replied.

"Good." Mike punched in a number and waited.

Greg poked Cassandra, then grabbed her hand and pulled her closer. "Look. I see he's physical and all and he can press keys and everything, but I'm still not convinced he's-"

Mike sighed. "Sanders, I'm alive. Get over it. Cass…" He held out the phone. "Not a word about me. He asks, you took a pipe to the bastard's head and got out."

Cassandra blinked. "But why-"

"Just do it, Cassie."

Cassandra shot him a look, then waited. Realizing that she could now call Nick without a gun pointed at her head relieved her and made her impatient all at once. Three rings… four rings… where the Hell was he? Where was anyone who would've gotten his phone in this situation? She nearly jumped up and down when she heard someone pick up the reciever on the other end.

"… Nick Stokes, who am I speaking with?"

"Nick!"

"Cass?"

Just like last name, there was the sound of shifting chairs and people crowding around him.

"Cass, baby, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine… now. We uh… we…" She looked at Mike, who sent her a warning look. She looked at Chuck. "Chuck found a two by four somewhere and managed to get Lars unaware. Chuck hit him, he went down, and we ran like Hell."

"So you… you all are away from there?" Nick asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, we're okay… we're at a gas station across from…" She glanced out the window and wanted to slap her forehead at the location of the place. "Across from Hal's Gentleman's Club."

"Ah- okay- Archie, did you… You got it? You did? Good. Cass, you guys, don't move, okay? Don't go anywhere, kay?"

"Nick, that's the dumbest thing you've ever said."

"I- I know. Just wait for us, okay?"

"We will." Cassandra replied, and the other line went dead.

Chuck looked at them. "So… we wait?"

"We wait." Cassandra nodded. "Now what are you gonna do, Mike?" Cassandra looked to her right, where he had been. However, the spot was now vacant. "..The Hell…?" She turned around, and the other two looked as surprised as she did. "Where'd he go?"

"Don't know. I was looking at you and the phone the whole damn time." Chuck replied.

"Same… Hey, maybe he was a ghost and he just disappeared."

"Then who led us here, dialed the phone and passed it to Cassie?" Chuck demanded.

"Oh, so now you believe he's alive." Greg replied.

"It's not that bad to hope, and things did add up that way." Chuck replied.

Greg sighed in defeat. "I guess… now let's go wait outside."

* * *

And so they waited. Within a couple of hours, they were surrounded by black four by fours, squad cars, and an ambulance. When the Vegas team came out of one of the vans, Nick spotted the three of them sitting there, and he just stared at his girlfriend for a while. She hadn't seen him yet, but he didn't mind. He was happy to just see that with the exception of a couple of scrapes and bruises, she seemed alright. She finally turned in his direction. Upon seeing him, she bolted upright and took off towards him in a run. He barely had time to meet her halfway and open his arms before she launched herself into them. She pressed herself as close to him as possible and wrapped her legs around his hips and arms around his neck.

"Oh, thank God, Cass." Nick breathed, not realizing he was crying until then.

"Nicky. Missed youso damn much. Love you so damn much." She replied, resting her forehead on his.

"Missed you too. Love you more." He replied before pressing his lips to hers.

Catherine had stopped to watch the couple reunite and gawked in happiness for a few moments before heading over to Greg. He stood up and beamed at her. "Oh, Greg!" She couldn't say much more for fear of her voice cracking. Even if she did say something and her voice did crack, she had a feeling she wouldn't have cared. "Get over here!" She managed to get out before pulling him into a hug that he returned whole-heartedly. Once they pulled away, Catherine turned to Chuck. "You. I don't even know you and I need to hug you. Come here."

Chuck laughed, then hugged her back. However, another woman caught his eye a short distance away. He bolted over to his fiancée and the two started up a reunion close to that of Nick and Cassandra.

A few feet from there, Sara, Jake and Max had joined the crowd, and after checking on Greg, they made their way over to Nick and Cassandra, who were still wrapped up in each other.

Sara beamed, not wanting to separate them, but having her turn to see her sister seemed to win over. "Hey, Nick. Mind if we see her for a second and then give her back?"

The two pulled apart and Nick put her down so Cassandra could hug her sister, brother, and best friend. As promised, the three made quick work of their own reunions, promising to make it longer after the dust cleared. Nick put his arms around her and rubbed her arm, murmuring into her hair. He stopped and pulled away. "Cass, I don't ever wanna lose you again in any way."

"That makes two of us." Cassandra laughed weakly.

"I'm serious, Cass."

Cassandra's smile faded and she stopped. "Is this your way of proposing…?"

Nick laughed, pulling her into a hug. "No, baby. Not yet, at least. Consider it… a promise ring without the ring… step between going steady and being engaged, huh? I'll propose in under a year- when I can take you out somewhere nice and pop the question, huh?"

Cassandra beamed. "Yeah, that… that works for me."

Nick grinned right back and hugged her once more before pulling away. "The EMTs are gonna wanna see you-"

"CASSIE!"

Cassandra flinched, then laughed all the same when her Henderson team came charging over. She barely even managed to keep up with who was hugging her or giving her a kiss on the cheek or praising God that she was around. Alan, Liam, Bryce, Zach, Kaylee, most of them were there, and she was certain that the others were waiting with baited breath back at the lab.

Once the reunions were over with, Cassandra, Chuck and Greg were all carted into the ambulence to be checked up on. Along the way, they had startled to discuss just what their backup story of getting free was. They all knew they'd have to make it convincing as Hell if Mike wanted to be kept out of it. As the ideas piled up, the realization that it was all over sunk in for all of them. The trio relaxed for the first time in ages.

* * *

Miles away, Lars was just beginning to come to. His fingers twitched, and then the rest of him started to come back as well. He opened his eyes, and the memory of how he had gotten into his predicament hit him. He scowled and he got up. Wiping some of the dirt and dried blood from his forehead, he surveyed the rest of his surroundings, tallying up just what had gone wrong and how. Plan A had failed. That could be dealt with quite easily. He glanced out the broken window, just managing to see a few sets of footprints leading away from the place. He smirked. They had one this round. "Fair enough. I'll let you think this is over… … for now."

* * *

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed that chapter. This isn't the end, either. Like Lars implied, it's barely begun. So, what did you think? Drop me a line or two… or a few. You know you want to.**


	11. Copycat

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. Life's been hectic. Anyway, since it's been requested a couple of times, I might make another fic as a side story for these two, and it'd just basically be putting Cassandra into some of the episodes. I have a few in mind, but I'd like to hear which episodes you guys would like to see her more in, if you'd even like to read the fic. I'm considering For Warrick, the rest of Turn, Turn, Turn, Family Affair Unshockable, The Two Mrs. Grissoms, Cold Blooded, Panty Sniffer, Meat Jekyll, any others you'd like to see, just let me know.**

**

* * *

**

**Three days later:**

Cassandra sighed and pressed her back futher against Nick's chest, trying to get comfortable on the couch. That was quite impossible being that Alan and Catherine were a few feet away, staring her down. After one overnight in the hospital to make sure she, Greg and Chuck were overall alright, they were sent home. Now, Cassandra was trying to get right back to work, and neither of the supervisors would grant her coming back right away.

"Cassie, would you just accept the week off? You need to take it." Catherine insisted.

"I'll rest when I'm on maternity leave, guys. Come on, let me come back tomorrow, or transfer tomorrow, or whatever."

"Cassie, what part of no do you understand? We're not letting you back. You need to take a rest for now, then more of a rest when you two get closer to having that baby." Alan replied. He sighed and sat down in the couch opposite them. "Cass, we're doing this for you. Take the opportunity."

"What am I gonna do here for a week alone? I don't do a lot of free time well."

"Think of baby names and dream preschools and godparents." Catherine replied. "Think of that and it'll be a week later in no time. Take it from me. I've been there."

Cassandra sighed, then tucked her head under Nick's chin. "Help me, Nicky. Don't make me stay home."

Nick laughed. "Cass baby, sorry, but I agree with them. You need to rest after what you've gone through. I would… I have." He nuzzled the top of her head. "Three against one, here." He glanced up when he heard the door open, then relaxed when Sara's voice floated into the room, announcing she and Max had arrived. "We're in the living room!"

Sara and Max came in, then took turns giving their sister a hug before starting to fuss over her right away. Both asked if they could do anything, make anything, the whole nine yards. Cassandra declined each time, then straightened out so she was still leaning against Nick, but gave Sara room to sit, and Max took the free spot next to Alan.

"So now you two are just about even with the life threatening situations, huh?" Sara grinned.

Cassandra swatted her sisters arm and cuddled into Nick further, even if it seemed impossible. "And Catherine, we already talked about godparents, so that's one thing down."

Nick snorted. "Way to start up the conversation, babe."

Cassandra elbowed him. "Well, she's here and kinda alone, isn't she?"

Catherine blinked innocently, even if she had an idea of what they were getting at. "What're you two lovebirds going on about now?"

Cassandra looked at Nick. "You wanna ask, or should I?"

Nick chuckled and stroked her hair, then looked at Catherine. "We were wondering if you would like to be the baby's godmother if everything works out okay."

Sara, Alan and Max all looked at Catherine with wide smiles, and the redhead just stared with her own goody smile on her face. She opened her mouth, then shut it, although it was more that she was flattered than contemplating an answer. "I would love to, you two! Thank you! It's… it's an honor!" She covered her mouth. "God, who knew I'd be so happy over it?" She laughed.

Nick beamed. "Well, we both figured you deserve it, so you damn well should be happy." He looked at Alan. "Now, Alan, don't get us wrong. You know Jake as well as all of us, so we all know he'd die inside if he wasn't godfather of this one…" He patted Cassandra's stomach lightly. " And then there's Grissom if we go for a second, so we're asking you now, if we do have a third kid, to be its godfather."

Alan raised his eyebrows. "Planning that far ahead already?"

Nick shrugged. "Time's short."

Alan's smile was back. "Well, I'd be honored to as well, all the same." He leaned back. "And if you don't have a third… I'm fine with being Grandpa or Uncle Alan all the same."

Catherine nodded, then sighed. "You know, I need to hug both of you, now." She got up and did just that, then pulled back. "Have you talked about names yet?"

Cassandra laughed. "Hey, you said yourself we need to work on that. We haven't had much time, but… if it's a boy, no question Warrick Jacob. If it's a girl, it's either after you, or maybe Lia, or Alana, we don't know."

Alan and Catherine's smiles both grew wider, even if it seemed impossible. Catherine spoke for the both of them. "I love them all. Warrick would be very proud and honored, same as us."

"That's exactly why we chose it." Nick replied.

Catherine nodded again, then sighed. "You guys are great, you know that? It's so relieving to see you together again. You guys are gonna be excellent parents, too."

Nick beamed. "So we've heard. Thank you." He looked up when the doorbell rang. "Who could this be, now?"

Cassandra started to get up. "I'll check."

"No you certainly will not." Nick replied, tightening his grip on her before shifting so he could get out from under her. "With this guy still M.I.A you're not answering any door or goin' anywhere alone." He told her before heading off towards the door.

Cassandra waited for him to be clear of the room before she rolled her eyes.

Alan chuckled. "He's doing the damn right thing, Cassie. It's what I would be doing for you. More power to him."

Catherine looked between the two in agreement. "Exactly. Besides- him having you on house arrest is adorable."

"Yeah, yeah. It's still obnoxious as Hell. Don't get me wrong, I do see why he's doing it and all that. I love him to death, but this is over the top-"

"Hey, where's everyone's favorite female two-time-kidnapping survivor?" a voice called from the next room over.

"Hodges!" Cassandra called, heading into the room and hugging the latest visitor.

Hodges blinked, not at all expecting to be greeted with a hug. "Oh, um, hi."

Cassandra laughed and pulled back. "Who woulda thought I would ever miss your sense of humor, huh?" Her smile grew when she noticed someone else standing next to Nick in the corner. Cassie McBride was the other visitor. "Little Cassie!" She hurried over to the girl and hugged her.

"Aunt Big Cassie!" Cassie replied, an identical smile on her face. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, Sweetie. Thank you." Cassandra replied. "Alright everyone, head for the living room. That's where the crowd is."

"Will do, Madame Escapee." Hodges nodded before heading into the living room.

Nick followed, pretending to laugh along with them. When they got back in, Nick went over to Alan and Catherine's couch and leaned over. "How'd he find out where we lived? He wasn't around with my stalker- and that was across the street, as it is."

Catherine rolled her eyes and smacked his cheek lightly. "Fresh. He's checking up on your girlfriend and mother of your child. Be nice." She whispered.

Nick sighed. "That always gonna be your excuse when I'm a wiseass about her relationships with everyone now?" he asked playfully before kissing the redhead on the cheek. "Now that there's a full house, anyone want anything? Drink, food? The guest room, at this rate?"

"I'll take it!" Cassie shot her hand up and waved it.

Nick chuckled. "I knew you'd go for that. Call your folks and see if it's okay, Darlin'." Nick ruffled the girl's hair.

Cassie pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and hurried into the kitchen.

Nick turned back to the adult company. "Offer for anything going once, twice…"

"Water, Nicky?" Catherine asked.

"One water, anything else?"

Alan nodded. "I'll take one too."

Nick nodded, then waited for anyone else to ask for anything before going into the kitchen as well.

Catherine watched him, then laughed when she heard Cassie whisper 'I totally knew that was Hodges.' and Nick countered with 'I told you I give you to many details about him, kiddo' before she giggled and said 'You're right, he is creepy.' The older woman looked at Hodges, then cracked a smile when he seemed to be oblivious to the conversation about him going on.

The lab tech did, however, come out of whatever minor haze he was in and held up the two objects he had been holding- a bouquet and an envelope that looked overstuffed. "Flowers and a get well and congrats on the pregnancy card." He explained. "Courtesy of my mother."

Cassandra arched an eyebrow. "How many people have you told that I'm expecting?"

Hodges hesitated, then shrugged. "…A few."

Cassandra blinked. "So basically at least two thirds of Vegas, half of California, and a quarter of New York knows."

Hodges hesitated again, then shrugged. "More like two thirds of Vegas, half of New York and a quarter of California." He corrected.

Cassandra gave him a playful shove, then chuckled. "Thank you, and tell your mother the same."

Hodges nodded. "Will do."

Cassandra kept smiling and sat back down while Nick came in with the glasses of water and joined her. A couple of minutes later, Cassie came back in. "I can stay!" She announced, dropping onto the couch beside Nick.

"Good, darlin'." Nick nodded.

Catherine watched both of the Cassies snuggle up to him and smiled, seeing the family dynamic they had already mastered. She wished she could've had that years ago with Lindsey. "Okay, so now that the distractions are over or at least slowed down, we both want an answer. Are you gonna listen to us and take the time off?"

Cassandra sighed, then when everyone else in the room shot her a warning look, she tossed her hands up. "Fine. I'll be good and stay away for a bit."

"There's my girl." Alan nodded, getting up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Annie, my daughter," he explained to the others who arched an eyebrow at the name. "Is flying in from California, and I need to pick her up. I should've been on the road ten minutes ago. Alright, everyone, nice meeting some of you or seeing you, whichever pertains to you. You all have a good day, now."

The others waved and voices farewells, and Alan was on his way.

The others stayed for an hour or so longer, just making small talk, asking about baby plans, and other odds and ends. Catherine was the last to leave, and Nick walked her to the door.

"Take care of everyone's girl, Nicky. Not to mention keep an eye on her. She's a lot like you, so she may try to sneak back into the lab and do some small work."

Nick laughed. "I'll be sure to do both things, Cath. I promise." He leaned forward so both of his other girls could go past him.

"Alright, Little Cassie. Pick a movie for Girl's Night." Cassandra suggested, patting Nick's back when she passed.

Nick laughed. "Alright, Cath. I'll see you later." He replied, starting to close the door.

Catherine bit her finger tip and smiled around it when she heard Nick call 'Hey, since when was I a girl?' right before the doors closed. She turned, and headed for her car. _They're gonna be fine._

_

* * *

_

The next morning, Catherine picked up her office phone when it rang. "Las Vegas Crime Lab, Catherine Willows speaking."

"Catherine, it's Alan… we uh… we have another murder here… seems to match Lars' M.O, but it doesn't… feel right."

Catherine leaned over. "Um, okay. What does that mean?"

"There are…" Alan began, then hesitated, trying to look for the words. "It's his style, but… the victims and scenes don't quite match up… they don't feel like him."

"Should we warn Cass, Greg and Chuck?"

"I'd say so, just in case. You take Greg and Cass, and I'll take Chuck. Agreed?"

"You got it. Was that all the call was for?"

"Well, seeing what you wanted to do on that front and then just saying for your team to watch out for yourselves in general now." He sighed. "You know, my daughter went out with friends last night next door to the place where they found the possible copycat's victim, and came out just in time to see me and my team investigating. Some 'Welcome Back to Vegas' huh?"

Catherine sighed. "Poor thing. Is she okay?"

"Well, her dad's been in this field, so she's heard worse. I guess that helped. Yay, my career." Alan sighed.

"Hey, she's lucky to have you. Anyway, let me go make those calls. Keep me posted, will you? If it turns out to be him, I want in on the case." Catherine replied.

"Of course. I'm sure you all do. I'll talk to you later, Catherine. Bye."

"Bye," Catherine replied, hanging up. She sighed. "Here we go again."


	12. He's Back

2 Months later:

Catherine glanced up when she saw the doors to the crime lab open. Nick hadn't shown up yet, and with the events of the last few minutes, and Cassandra's encounter, she was starting to get apprehensive. Nick was hardly ever late these days. Needless to say, when she saw it was in fact Nick and Cassandra who came in those doors, she was relieved. "There you are. What kept you?" She smiled, but it faded fast when she saw Nick looked absolutely stunned and Cassandra looked distracted. They were holdings hands, but it was tighter than usual. "… Is everything okay?" She asked hesitantly. If they were in the middle of a fight, they wouldn't have been holding hands. Hell, they barely ever fought as it was. If they did, it was quick, and within minutes one party was hugging the other and apologizing. She swallowed hard. "Wait… you guys had that appointment to check on the…" She looked at Cassandra's stomach that seemed to be growing by the day and frowned. "Oh God, is everything…?"

Both of them seemed to snap out of their own worlds and looked up. "Oh, no, everything's uh, everything's fine!" They shook their heads.

Catherine arched an eyebrow. "Uh huh. Then spit it out. You guys look miles away- and terrified. Don't make me worry."

Nick looked at Cassandra and shrugged. "You wanna tell her, or…?"

"You're closer to her." Cassandra shrugged.

Catherine blinked. "Really worried, now…"

Nick looked at her and opened his mouth. He closed it for another moment. "We're havin' triplets!" He blurted.

Catherine stared for a moment, then her jaw dropped. "No! Really?" She hurried over to Cassandra and looked over her stomach. "You know, I thought you were getting big for one, but… three?" She asked, then beamed. "You guys are gonna be great! Don't you worry about a thing! Aunt Catherine will be here to help, anyway." She pulled the two into a hug as best she could. She pulled back when she heard Greg say something from down the hall before starting to hurry over.

"My little brother or sister is here with Mom and Dad!" Greg grinned, joining the group. He bent down beside Cassandra so he was eye level with her stomach. "Hi, Baby!" He straightened out. "And 'hi' to my honorary parents, too."

Nick laughed. "Hey, Greggo. And uh, Hell, now that Catherine knows it'll be all over the lab by tomorrow, so I might as well tell you now. Uh, you may wanna edit the first part of that greeting a bit."

Greg tilted his head, having a rough time following at first. Once it registered, like Catherine, his jaw dropped. "Twins?" He smiled.

Nick held up three fingers.

Greg backed up a couple of steps, throwing his hands up to lay on the top of his head. "No way, triplets?"

"Yep." Cassandra nodded, laughing as well.

Greg gawked for a few minutes, before tossing his arms around them. "Congrats, Awesome Parents!" He pulled away. "Feel free to hate me, but I'm gonna go tell Hodges so he can spread it around and we can start a baby name pool for you guys." He scurried off.

"We already have them chosen, Greg!" Nick called after him, but laughed when the younger man paid him no mind. He looked at Cassandra. "Alright, Baby. You sure Jake's getting off now to drive you home?"

"Right here, Stokes!"

Nick turned to see Jake walking their way. When the lieutenant reached them and tossed one arm around Cassandra's shoulders, the southerner nodded. "That settles that." He turned back to Cassandra. "Call me later, 'kay?"

"You got it." Cassandra winked, then leaned up and kissed him.

Nick kissed her a second time and muttered a goodbye and Catherine waved before Nick patted the redhead on the back and the two left to focus on their case. They both turned back when they heard the doors close. A moment later, Cassandra seemed to have given Jake the news as well, because Jake screamed "Oh my God!", pulled Cassandra into a bear hug, then proceeded to jump up and down once when he had pulled away.

Catherine laughed. "Well, you two are gonna have a very happy, eager to help extended family, Nicky."

"I have no doubt." Nick beamed.

Catherine nodded. "Alright, enough of that. Time for business. Now, that Lars copycat has struck again. Let's get going, fast."

* * *

Lars glanced down at the dead body beside him. It was the copycat that the CSIs had been hunting for months now. The man's name was Bryon Evans. He had let the man play for a while, but now it had gotten old. There was only so much copying fine work a man could take. He had enjoyed the break that Bryon had allowed, but it was time to come back. He kicked at the corpse's shoulder, then stepped back. He wondered who he would take this time if things got bad. Cassandra had re-earned his respect, Chuck… had sustained a bit too much damage while being toyed with, he would admit, and Greg, well, Greg could go again, but he didn't quite like being repetitive. He looked up as he could've sworn he heard the sound of sirens being carried on the wind. He looked down at his work one last time before he retreated. There was so much left to do.

* * *

Nick bent down by the body and examined it. "Nothin' stands out from the last couple of this guy. Got the beaten down body, slashed throat with hesitation marks- this guy's as dubious as Lars himself. Wonder what this guy had against Lars- or why he idolized him so much…"

"Who knows with these people. Point is he's still free doing this- and we have to stop him." Catherine replied. She turned when she saw Chuck walking over in the distance. With Nick's latest job for Jake, they had called Chuck in to be their temporary homicide detective. "Did Greg find anything?"

Chuck shook his head. "Not yet. Not even footprints." He hesitated, then visibly forced himself to look at the body. "… It's still scary, man. This guy's a copycat, but… he's damn close. That coulda been me, Cass or Greg a couple of months ago.." He shuddered.

Nick and Catherine both put the hand closest to them on his shoulder and squeezed. "Hey, point is you got away, and your nose healed up and made you look prettier." Nick teased.

Chuck gave him a gentle shove, then sighed. "Alright, I'll go check with the uniforms on the other side, see if they have anything new for you… get away from… this." He pulled a face before making a beeline for the uniforms a few feet away from the base of the hill they were on.

"Poor guy," Nick sighed.

Catherine nodded sadly. "Yeah. How's Cassie with recovering, by the way? Greg seems to be okay- he's been through it before. But Cassie, we don't see much of. We usually see her chipper, but…"

"No, no, I get it. She's bounced back, but there are still those little moments. If I say something that Lards did- even something, she'll get quiet, but I can usually talk it outta her. She always says the ending outweighed what happened- she survived, the baby-" He laughed. "-babies, are okay after he knocked her around, her friends got out okay… at least she's open to talking. It could be worse." Nick replied.

Catherine smiled. "She's lucky to have you."

Nick grinned. "So I've heard, once again. It's the least I can do for my baby girl." He looked back at the body, then frowned. "Hold on…" He turned around, looking towards the squad cars, the four by four, and the coroner van by the road. "Hey, Doc Robbins! We okay to start checkin' him out?"

Al gave them a thumbs up, not stopping consulting with David.

"Find somethin' Nicky?" Catherine asked, then glanced down when she heard her phone ring. She answered, turning around. "CSI Willows… yeah… what? But… okay, send it through." She held up her pointer finger to Nick before heading by the four by four.

Nick paid little mind to her action, merely pulling back the man's shirt where he had noticed there was an indent in the dirt that lined up with the area. He frowned when he saw a bruise that looked like the outline of the toe of a boot. So many things just didn't add up at all. This was new, but… why was it familiar? Since when had the copycat added kicking the victim to his MO? His heart sunk when he put an answer together. "Cath…?" He stood up.

Catherine came back, hurrying as she did so. "DNA came back from the copycat's last victim… a record came through… the copycat…" She motioned at the body. "It's… it's him. Bryon Evans."

Nick's heart sunk more. He turned around in Chuck's direction. "Chuck, get over here NOW!"

Having only heard Nick that scared and angry at the same time once before, Chuck all but bolted back over. "Is everything okay, Nick?"

Nick shook his head. "No. No it's not. Cassie, Greg and you yourself said Lars used you as a punching bag. If he got really mad at ya, what did he do?"

Chuck licked his lips. "Kick me when I was down- literally."

Nick cursed, then looked at the body and pointed to the bruise. "I'm sorry I'm doin' this to you, man. Really, I am, but… you must know the bruise, then. Does that look similar to the ones you had?"

Chuck hesitantly glanced over to where he was pointing. "Yeah, it does, actually." He paused again, wondering where Nick was going with it, then it hit him. "You don't think… Oh God no."

Nick pointed at him as he used his free hand to dig for his cell phone. "Don't go home tonight .Stay at a hotel, get a couple of buddies to watch after you. Greg!" He barked towards the road.

Catherine, who had caught on moments before Chuck had, put her hands up. "I'll tell him, you make sure your girlfriend's okay. I'll call it in, too." She hurried off.

Nick jammed Cassandra's number into his phone, then pressed it to his ear. "Come on, Baby. Where are you? Please be home, please don't be home yet… Goddamn it, answer!" He hissed after the sixth ring. "Where is she?"

* * *

"Freakin phone… where is it?" Cassandra hissed, digging in her purse. "I knew I should replace this thing."

Jake rolled his eyes. "Women and bags. It's pathetic, really."

Cassandra turned the corner into the kitchen, looking over her shoulder to address him. "Oh, shut up, I-" She turned back around, then let lose a loud scream when she saw someone at the table that clearly shouldn't be there.

Jake all but jumped in front of her, scrambling for his weapon that wasn't there out of instinct. He expected Lars, but when he spotted dark hair and tanned skin as opposed to light brown hair and pale skin, he wasn't quite sure what to think. That only doubled when he realized who was sitting at the table. "Aren't you supposed to be…?"

Michael Keppler rolled his eyes. "Thompson," He greeted. He looked at Cassandra. "Sorry to scare you, Cass, but we need to leave. Now."

Cassandra looked around. "How'd you…?"

Keppler scoffed. "A key taped to the top of the lattice outside, really?" He countered. "I'm serious, Cassie. Lars is back. We need to get you out of here, just in case."

Cassandra's jaw dropped further, but then she snapped out of it, resuming digging in her bag for her phone that had stopped ringing. " How do you know?" She asked

Keppler tossed his hands up, stood up, and marched over to the woman. He took her by the arm and started dragging her towards the door, grabbing Jake's arm and dragging him along as well. While Cassandra kept up with him, Jake, who was finally realizing how Nick must've felt the first time he met the Texan, followed behind, wondering why the Hell Cassandra seemed okay with having a guy who was supposed to be dead sitting at her kitchen table and dragging her out of her house now.

The woman finally reached her phone and opened it. "Nick, shit." She hit the call number and let Keppler practically shove her into the copassenger seat of his car after he opened the door. The older man snapped his fingers and pointed at Jake, then the backseat.

Jake let out a whimper he would later deny and got in.

Cassandra frowned when she listened to Nick's message. "_Babe, call me back right when you get this. If you get this on the road, don't go home. I'll explain what's going on once you call back. I love you." _He sounded terrified. So was Keppler right about Lars? "Mike, I…"

"Call Nick back, tell him we're headed to the Ella Monte hotel. It's about a twenty minute drive from the Strip. That's all I can say." Keppler insisted.

Cassandra nodded, not knowing what else to do. She dialed Nick's number, not at all surprised that it had barely finished ringing once before he picked up. "Nick?"

"Cass! Baby, thank God. Are you home? Are you okay?"

Cassandra blinked, then looked at Keppler, who sent her a warning look. "Um, I'm fine… Jake heard about Lars… he's taking me to a place his friend knows is safe- the Elle Monte hotel- twenty minutes from the Strip."

"… … Alright… as long as you're okay… you keep me posted, you understand? Stay close to Jake."

"I will, don't worry." Cassandra replied.

"It's my job to worry when the psychopath who took you for a crazier reason than Lynn is back in business and committing murders, Cass." Nick snapped. "Look, just… be careful, okay? I love you."

"Love you too." The line went dead. She turned her attention to Keppler. "Okay. Wanna tell us why you know, now?"

"Police radio, and stuff I heard underground." Keppler replied, not missing a beat. "I know the Vegas and Reno crew, and knew they wouldn't let you back between the baby and the stress by now, so I figured Chuck and Greg were taken care of, but you weren't, so I headed to your place, waited, and here we are."

The rest of the ride passed in near silence. Jake would occasionally lean forward to ask a question, but a glare in the mirror form Keppler would make it die in his throat and cause him to lean back.

They made it to the hotel, and Keppler ushered them into room one twenty three before locking the door and sitting at the table by the window. He settled down and put his gun on the table without saying another word.

Jake tried to get answers again, but was once again silenced by a look.

Another few minutes passed. The three of them all jumped when a knock at the door.

Keppler growled and reached for his gun.

Cassandra shook her head. "Mike, no."

"You're not getting the door." Mike replied.

"The Hell I am, it could be one of us."

"It could be Lars who found us somehow!" Mike countered.

Jake rolled his eyes. "For Christssakes, guys." He got up, edged towards the door, then pressed himself against it. He cast a sideways glance through the eyehole. "It's Nick. That was quick." He glanced at Keppler, as if asking permission, then when Mike shook his head in defeat, he opened the door. "Stokes,"

Nick nodded a quick greeting before bolting inside and over to Cassandra. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her as close against him as he could. He kissed the top of her head. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, Nicky. Not much has changed in a half hour. How'd you find us?"

"I was here before with an… old friend. I talked to the landlady, this was the only section that was completely vacant in this place. I knocked on every door 'til I found you guys." He glanced around, and then when he spotted Keppler, with the man looking hardly pleased he had been discovered, Nick put Cassandra down. He blinked a couple of times, as if checking if he was seeing things. "… Keppler?"

Keppler shrugged. "Nick," He returned the halfhearted greeting. He hadn't at all expected the man to reach them so soon.

Nick turned back to Cassandra. "He's the old friend I mentioned. We had a case… and… more importantly what's a guy who's supposed to be dead doing here with you?"

Jake tossed his hands up, then motioned at Nick. "See? He can say it but I can't?"

"Shut up, Jake." The three others snapped.

Keppler turned to Cassandra. "Well, you wanna tell him, or should I…?"


End file.
